Liu Mingming, Liu Qi: China’s Path in the Eyes of Foreign Left-wing Scholars
Recently, the question of how to perceive the Chinese path has become a hot topic of concern in international academic circles. On the one hand, arguments questioning and attacking the Chinese path are heard incessantly; on the other hand, as China’s comprehensive national strength and international status rise, there are many voices of praise among international discussions and research regarding the Chinese path. Based on realistic observations of the Chinese path, an increasing number of foreign Left scholars are breaking the ideological shackles that previously confined them, viewing the achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics more objectively and fairly, recognizing the contemporary value of the Chinese path, and placing their hopes in it.
Reasons for the Success of the Chinese Path
There was once a view internationally that China was far from the core zone of the world socialist movement, yet the socialist path there managed to persist and achieve success even after the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe [1]. This has left foreign scholars deeply curious and has triggered profound reflection.
First, the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the key to the success of the Chinese path. Party leadership is the most fundamental feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and its greatest advantage. Relevant Russian experts believe the CPC is the key to why socialism with Chinese characteristics can succeed. The CPC unites progressive social forces to the greatest extent possible, playing the role of a wise coordinator, manager, and vanguard. Regarding guiding ideology, the CPC has been consistent; there is an inherent continuity across the guiding ideologies of various historical periods, thereby ensuring policy stability.
Second, China adopted the correct path of socialist reform. Some scholars argue that China’s reform features seven major measures and characteristics, including: concentrating energy on exploration and innovation; actively responding to the needs of the masses; refraining from indiscriminately copying the experiences of other countries; promoting gradual and orderly reform; not destroying state-owned enterprises; not abandoning macro-control; and developing an economy where multiple forms of ownership coexist. Sebastian Heilmann, a German expert on China, also believes that China did not take a precipitous route during its transition, but instead insisted on "trialing first before promotion" [2]—that is, verifying formulated policies in small-scale local areas before promoting them nationwide. This gradual reform is superior to "shock therapy."
Third, the Chinese path has made outstanding contributions to maintaining world peace while winning international environment and space for its own development. Some foreign scholars point out that to dispel the doubts of other countries, China constantly emphasizes to the outside world that it "will never develop itself at the expense of other countries' interests." The "Two Centenary" goals aim to create a strong and prosperous China that coexists peacefully with other external nations. Other scholars point out that the Chinese government and leaders have long been committed to a policy of peaceful development, which is deeply rooted in enduring Chinese needs and values, long-term international trends of interdependence, and growing global challenges. Many Western powers in human history embarked on a path of hegemony after growing strong, leading to their subsequent decline. However, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a path of peaceful development; it does not engage in external expansion but is a steadfast force for maintaining world peace. Therefore, it can evade the destiny of "a country becoming hegemonic once it is strong, and declining once it is hegemonic" [3].
Exploration of the Nature of the Chinese Path
As the world's most populous major country, China’s path is undoubtedly of particular interest. Due to cultural differences and divergent interpretations of Marxism, the foreign Left holds varying views and engages in constant debate regarding the positioning of the Chinese path.
According to the viewpoint of historical materialism, the key indicator for evaluating the nature of a country's social system is the relations of ownership. Samir Amin, the Egyptian economist and Marxist thinker, argued that China's land remains state-owned property and is not allowed to be bought or sold freely, which is a major reason why China is not a capitalist country. He also believed that if China took the capitalist road, it would be impossible to reach the level of development seen in Europe, America, or Japan, because the Western developed countries at the so-called center of world development would never allow peripheral countries to challenge their status. Therefore, China’s way out lies in socialism and in firmly following its own socialist path.
Other relevant scholars believe that China’s socialist market economy is built upon a powerful public sector, which occupies a strategic position in the economy. The advantages of China’s public-owned enterprises are reflected in: possessing economies of scale, not pursuing the simple maximization of profit, partially allowing workers to participate in enterprise management, and responding more rapidly to national macro-control. Schweickart’s analysis points out that from an economic perspective, capitalism refers to a market economy where individuals privately own a large amount of the means of production and wage labor is dominant. If Chinese society is measured by this standard, it is clearly not capitalist, as nearly half of the population still lives in the countryside. More importantly, although the individual economy has grown rapidly over the past few decades, state-owned enterprises still dominate core industries including banking, insurance, petroleum, telecommunications, engineering and construction, steel manufacturing, electricity, railways, and shipping, which is conducive to the long-term stable development of the Chinese economy.
The World Significance and Value of the Chinese Path
Fukuyama regarded so-called Western liberal democracy as the "end of history," but the great achievements of the Chinese path demonstrate that another path is possible.
First, the practice of the Chinese path has enriched the forms of modernization for world development, providing important reference value for countries exploring development paths under the rule of global capitalism. British scholar Martin Jacques once boldly predicted: "China will provide an alternative to the Western model, including a completely different political tradition, a post-colonial development path for developing countries, a highly mature statecraft, and Confucian traditions." Other scholars understand socialism with Chinese characteristics as a social movement alternative to capitalism and a development scheme alternative to capitalist modernity—that is, "socialism with Chinese characteristics possesses not only local significance but more so world-historical significance." The development of the Chinese path provides the "outline" and "sketch" of a new society, offering a social system and governance model for reference. From the perspective of practical performance, during the global process of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the immense strengths and superiority of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics were fully demonstrated, effectively refuting the so-called "End of History" theory.
Second, the Chinese path is a powerful engine for global economic development. Some scholars believe that China's socialist market economy has become the most active organic part of the current world system. From the perspective of the global economic development pattern, the global economic center has gradually shifted toward East Asia and subsequently toward China. Meanwhile, some scholars believe that while the American-style free-market economy is being shrouded in dark clouds, the prospects for the Chinese path are brighter—as some put it: "The continuous growth of the Chinese economy is not an accidental or unexplainable phenomenon, but rather benefits more from its meticulous economic and social planning, which is the essence of socialism."
The Chinese Path Represents the Hope of Socialism
In the eyes of some foreign scholars, based on the decayed logic that "a strong country must seek hegemony," China’s development is a threat. However, in the eyes of insightful people abroad, China’s development path represents the hope of the world and the opportunity for the future development of human society; they hope other countries can pay attention to or even emulate China to achieve their own development.
Specifically, some scholars believe that China harbors great hope. China is rapidly becoming the most dynamic economy in the world, and its more socialized new model of economic development shows that government can be a powerful progressive force for reform. In China, large banks and energy companies remain subordinate to the public sector, which helps resist anti-social greed like that of Wall Street and prevents the domestic economy from following in the footsteps of Western countries. In the eyes of neoliberals, government intervention is a constraint on further economic development; but in the eyes of insightful people, government intervention in national economic development can effectively curb the reckless behavior of capitalist free capital, and China has precisely exerted this advantage. The miracle of the Chinese economy shows that public investment under a government-led system can bring about rapid socio-economic development and allow the masses to live prosperous lives. In the view of some scholars: China must persist in following a development path with its own characteristics; public ownership of key sectors and appropriate government intervention can avoid risks and accelerate economic development—these are the features and advantages of the Chinese path. Some scholars have even expressed directly: "So far, the Chinese path has provided us with a good reference for better understanding the crisis of Western society and the decline of capitalism, and also helps us correct the mistakes made over the past 20 years."
Friendly personages abroad truly hope that the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics continues, thereby setting a model and example for other countries. Some scholars have said with great expectation: "The victory of socialism in China (if it can be consolidated) will mean that socialism is the best and most tangible hope for humanity in the 21st century." Although the Soviet Union was the benchmark for 20th-century socialism, in many people's eyes, the future of socialism fell along with the red flag from the Kremlin. But the Chinese path preserves hope for socialism. Russian scholars, meanwhile, believe: "Against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the skepticism toward the experience of building socialism, the emergence and development of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics provided a new alternative path for social development, representing a new socialist phenomenon in the world of economic globalization and the post-industrial stage of development." Now, China has become a model for other socialist countries to learn from and reference. Some foreign scholars point out: countries such as Vietnam and Laos have successively emulated China’s socialist development path and have performed outstandingly in poverty alleviation and economic development speed.
In short, the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a vivid contemporary manifestation of the theory of scientific socialism, representing a new direction for the development of socialism.