On Communist Party’s 105th anniversary China affirms “modern socialist society” by 2049

The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated its 105th anniversary on Wednesday, July 1, with a resolve to press ahead to make China into a “modern socialist country” by 2049.

Speaking during the celebrations to mark the occasion on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the party, called the history of the CPC the “most magnificent epic” of the Chinese nation.

Formed in Shanghai in 1921 with a total membership of just 50 members, today the CPC boasts of a membership of over 101 million members, with over 5.43 million primary level organizations.

The CPC has been in power in China since the establishment of the People’s Republic after the 1949 revolution.

During the ceremony, President Xi conferred eight individuals the July 1 Medal, the party’s highest honor. The individuals were conferred the honor based on outstanding contributions in their respective field of action, including a grassroots mediator, a village party official, a veteran, a rural doctor, a community worker, an agricultural specialist, a mechanical engineer and a refining engineering expert, Xinhua reported.

Xi emphasized that its members should never forget the original aspiration and founding mission of the party. “We always stay modest, prudent, and hard-working and that we have the courage and ability to carry on our fight.”

Xi also warned that Chinese development has reached a phase where “strategic opportunities co-exist with risks and challenges and where uncertain and unpredictable factors are on the rise” asking party members to be ready to face all such challenges and risks.

A brief history

Inspired by the great October Revolution in Russia in 1917 and the ideas and works of Karl Marx, the CPC started a movement against the country’s feudal rulers with the help of the country’s vast peasant classes and the leadership of Mao Zedong.

After over two decades of struggle against feudalism and colonial occupation, the PRC was declared in 1949.

The CPC spent its first two decades in power creating the grounds for building a socialist society by dismantling feudal structures under a centralized-planning system.

Later, under the new leadership of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, the CPC began an era of reform for faster economic development, achieving one of the fastest growth rates in the world. The Party’s reforms introduced a vast capitalist market and attracted huge amounts of foreign investment (especially from the United States), while making the country the world’s manufacturing powerhouse. It also created a surge in inequality and other social consequences that the Xi government has tried to rein in. State investment and long-term plans has been used to build rural infrastructure, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and make massive investments in science and technology.

‘China is defender of world peace’

Xi underlined the eradication of absolute poverty as the major achievement of the party in recent years, while claiming it has also “mapped out a blueprint to basically realize modernization by 2035 and build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects” by the centenary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 2049.

The occasion was also used to reiterate China’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Xi asserted that the reintegration of Taiwan into the mainland is a “historic mission and unshakable commitment” of the CPC, while Guo Jiakun, official spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asserted that China, would continue to raise the banner of peace, development and “win-win” cooperation.

Trump and his administration were not mentioned by name in the speeches of the celebration, nor was the Iran war. Instead, there were veiled references to “turbulent” events and a world in “disarray.” This is in keeping with the strategy of Xi and other Chinese spokespeople to present themselves as mild-mannered elder statesmen in contrast with the zig-zagging, aggressive and unpredictable Trump. “Socialist China under the leadership of the CPC is widely recognized as the defender of world peace, contributor to global development and upholder of international order,” Guo told the assembled media, and will “promote the building of a new type of international relations.”