Emancipating the mind and seeking the truth from facts, the second generation of the central collective leadership of the CPC with Comrade Deng Xiaoping at the core made a scientific judgement on the characteristics of the times and identified peace and development as the two major questions in the world today. It successfully shifted the focus of the work of the Party and the State to socialist modernization and made it clear that in the new circumstances, the major task of the Party’s work relating to external relations was to strive for a favourable and peaceful international environment for China’s reform and opening up and building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Through careful exploration and repeated practice, the CPC established the principles guiding inter-party exchanges, i.e. independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. Deng Xiaoping’s thinking on inter-party relations is an important component of his theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics as well as his ideas on diplomatic work. His thinking in this regard has generated new vitality in the external exchanges of the Chinese Communist Party in the new circumstances, thus enabling our party to win admiration and respect from an increasing number of political parties of the world.