Historical roots strengthen China's plan for future
There is no greater guide for the path we find ourselves on today than the road which we have already traveled.
While China has increasingly become synonymous with innovation and a future-oriented outlook, the momentous milestones reached in 2021 had a single underlying theme of an entirely different nature -- history.
In 2021, China celebrated the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), launched a campaign for encouraging the study of the Party's history, and convened a pivotal meeting at which a landmark resolution on the Party's century-long history was passed.
"Looking back on the Party's 100-year history, we can see why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future," said Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
PARTY CENTENARY
The CPC celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding on July 1, as its top leader declared that China had realized the first centenary goal of "building a moderately prosperous society in all respects," and that the Chinese nation is "advancing with unstoppable momentum toward rejuvenation."
This declaration marked the country's successful elimination of absolute poverty, a scourge that had plagued the Chinese people for millennia.
Back in 2012 when Xi was elected to the Party's top post, there were nearly 100 million Chinese living under the poverty line. Since then, a monumental anti-poverty campaign was launched on a scale unseen anywhere in the world. Over the eight years, the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents had all been lifted out of poverty.
Combined with its poverty-reduction results since the late 1970s, China is responsible for over 70 percent of the global reduction in poverty over the period, World Bank statistics showed.
In 1921 when the CPC was founded, it had just over 50 members. Today, with more than 95 million members in a country of more than 1.4 billion people, it is the largest governing party in the world with tremendous international influence.
Yet the remarkable achievements of the Party did not come from nothing; they were earned through persistent struggle and made possible by the great strength drawn from its founding spirit.
At the Party's centenary gathering, Xi spoke at length on this founding spirit. It is comprised of the principles of upholding truth and ideals, staying true to the Party's original aspiration and founding mission, fighting bravely without fear of sacrifice, and remaining loyal to the Party and faithful to the people.
As the country embarks on a new journey toward realizing the second centenary goal of developing China into a great modern socialist country by the mid-21st century, the founding spirit will serve as a constant source of strength.
HISTORICAL LEGACY
On June 18, inside the hall of the Museum of the CPC, Xi, raising his right fist, led other senior leaders in reciting the Party admission oath in front of the Party flag: "It is my will to join the CPC... I will fight for communism for the rest of my life..."
Xi thus called on all Party members to revisit the Party's historical legacy and draw strength from its century-long history for the journey ahead.
"The Party's history is the most vivid and convincing textbook," Xi said while visiting an exhibition on Party history debuted at the newly inaugurated museum ahead of the centenary of the CPC.
The officials immersed themselves in the exhibits, files, photos and videos on display, including the manuscript of Karl Marx's notes from Brussels and recreated scenes of the first CPC National Congress.
Earlier this year, the Party launched a campaign for encouraging the study of the Party's history, as the country stands at a critical juncture where the timeframes of its two centenary goals converge.
Xi himself has set an example in this campaign. From a historical battlefield along the Xiangjiang River to cave dwellings of revolutionary significance in Shaanxi, and the "Red Building" of Peking University, which served as the base of the New Culture Movement and a cradle of the May 4th Movement, this year Xi visited countless places that had been instrumental to the Party's rise, as he has done throughout his political career.
By reliving both the glory and hardship of the Party, its over 95 million members have pooled their wisdom, strengthened their unity and boosted their confidence and morale during the campaign.
LANDMARK RESOLUTION
In November, China's political heavyweights convened the high-profile sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, adopting a landmark resolution on historical issues.
The 30,000-plus-character Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century is the third of its kind in the Party's 100-year history: the first in 1945 before the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the second in 1981 with the advent of the reform and opening-up drive.
"This review will help build a broader consensus and stronger unity in will and action among all members and rally and lead Chinese people of all ethnic groups in achieving new and great success in building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era," Xi said when he briefed the meeting on the resolution.
The Party has established Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and defined the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, according to the resolution.
This reflects the common will of the Party, the armed forces, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups, and is of decisive significance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country in the new era and for driving forward the historic process of national rejuvenation, it added.
The document specifies the secret behind the Party's success, including the principles of upholding the Party's leadership, putting the people first, and remaining committed to self-reform.
The CPC is slated to convene its 20th national congress in the second half of 2022. The twice-a-decade event will review the work of the past five years, chart the course for the future, and elect a new central leadership.