Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, at the virtual meeting on March 29 (IDCPC)

When Michel Philippe Nze visited China some years ago as part of a party-to-party exchange program, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen left an indelible mark on him. As the second deputy secretary general of the Gabonese Democratic Party (GDP), he ultimately found the key to China’s rapid development through his visits: the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership.

Over the past 40 years, the GDP has worked to enhance its ties with the CPC. Many study groups of top executives have been to China during this time to learn from the CPC’s governance and human resource cooperation experiences. “Over the last 10 years, we have seen China’s tremendous success under the CPC’s leadership,” Nze said.

On March 29, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC) held a seminar via video link on inter-party interactions. Nze was one of 17 political party leaders from 16 African nations who attended the virtual meeting. “The CPC is ready to put General Secretary Xi Jinping’s and African political party leaders’ agreement into action. In accordance with the principles of mutual respect and mutual inspiration, the CPC continues to share experiences on state governance, jointly put forward the nine programs under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative and put into practice in Africa the Global Development Initiative proposed by Xi, in order to support the latter in accelerating modernization,” said Song Tao, Minister of IDCPC.

Strengthening exchanges

Since its 18th National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, has been determined to win a decisive victory in poverty reduction, to achieve the comprehensive construction of a middle-income society, to pursue common prosperity of all, and to embark on the road to socialist modernization in an all-round way, Song said.

At the webinar, John James Akpanudoedehe, Interim National Secretary of the All-Progressives Congress of Nigeria, emphasized that the CPC has worked relentlessly to better people’s life. According to him, poverty reduction efforts benefit not just China but also the rest of the world. China has now achieved a “complete victory” in its war against absolute poverty, with 98.99 million poor people in rural regions moving out of poverty. Absolute poverty has finally been eradicated in the world’s most populous country.

Common prosperity is an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which is to ensure that the fruits of reform and development benefit the entire population more equitably. “All this represents the people-centered development philosophy implemented by the CPC,” he continued, adding that the CPC has long been committed to sharing its experience and philosophy of governance with political parties in other countries.

Lechesa Tsenoli, a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of South Africa, expressed his view that both parties have the people as their highest priority, caring for everyone in the country and meeting their development requirements. It is all the more important for the two parties to deepen mutual interactions and improve their abilities to govern the country in the face of new difficulties in the Internet age.

Under the CPC’s leadership, China has clear goals and a correct development path, said Kebede Kassa, Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Prosperity Party (PP) of Ethiopia. “The CPC’s membership has grown to over 95 million. During a visit to a local Party organization in China, I was surprised to find that the thinking of its members was in line with that of the Party’s top leadership, the Central Committee. I think this is the result of the building of the grassroots party organizations. That’s why China has been very successful,” he added.

The PP places great importance on its relationship with the CPC, since the two governments share a friendly and long-standing relationship. The PP convened a party convention recently, at which CPC leaders and the Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia were invited. “We intend to increase our collaboration with the CPC on grassroots organization development, governance experiences, and other topics. At the same time, I believe our party has a lot to offer to the CPC in terms of experience. As a result, our collaboration is mutually beneficial and win-win,” Kassa added.

Kassa has traveled to China four times. He was amazed by the Chinese people’s perseverance and the country’s rapid development. The previous visit was in 2015, when he stayed in China for two weeks. “I once visited Dalian, a very beautiful coastal city in northeast China. I will never forget my time in Dalian.”

On March 29, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee holds a seminar via video link on inter-party interactions

Role of party media

Party media, according to Song, play a critical role in mainstreaming party theories. Chinese and African political parties should encourage exchanges and collaboration in order to communicate the tale of China’s and Africa’s long-standing friendship, as well as promote the notion of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

According to Taïrou Bagbiegue, Vice President of the Union for the Republic of Togo, party media should be dedicated to propagating political party principles as well as their own national values. “In order to correctly communicate the growth story of our own nation, China and African countries should enhance tighter collaboration in the sphere of information and communication.”

According to Nze, in a world crowded with a wide range of online information, the Internet is a double-edged sword: There is a certain amount of false and inaccurate information. “The GDP, as the ruling party, needs to do a better job in guiding public opinion and creating a clearer and more positive Internet environment.”

“On the occasion of this meeting, whose theme focuses on cooperation between political parties, I am convinced that our exchanges will be fruitful in this area,” added Nze.