[Germany] Egon Krenz, Translated by Wang Jianzheng: China Is the Protagonist of the World in the 21st Century
Looking back, how many political parties once embarked on their journeys full of hope, only to be cast aside by the progression of history along the way? These include my own party—the Socialist Unity Party of Germany [1]. However, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has withstood the test of history; today she stands tall and majestic, leading China continuously forward and becoming the world's largest governing party with over 95 million members. The CPC has overcome hunger and poverty, lifting the entire nation out of destitution. The CPC has led China to develop into the world's second-largest economy. If other regions of the world could achieve such successes as China’s, if the entire world could rid itself of refugee crises, war, famine, racism, nationalism, and fascism, what a happy scene today’s human society would be!
All friends of China are pleased to see that, at the Sixth Plenary Session of its 19th Central Committee, the CPC Central Committee profoundly summarized past experiences and looked forward to future tasks based on the principles of historical materialism. This meeting coincided with the 30th anniversary of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union collapsed from within and was declared dissolved by its highest levels—an act condoned by the United States. The enemies of the Soviet Union "rejoiced and adjusted their hats" [2], believing that capitalism had triumphed over socialism, that they could finally dominate the world alone, and that Marxism was dead. Those bourgeois ideologues miscalculated; they did not foresee the profound accumulation and rapid emergence of the People's Republic of China. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the result of the CPC’s persistence in combining Marxist theory with Chinese reality. The brilliant achievements China has attained in the last decade are inseparable from the correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. In its essence, socialism with Chinese characteristics is also a part of the international communist and workers' movement. It has injected new content and vitality into the socialist ideal. China's history proves that such goals can only be achieved when a Marxist party holds supreme power and operates under the guidance of Marxism-Leninism.
I believe that the CPC's integration of Marxism-Leninism with China’s concrete realities and its continuous development of Marxism-Leninism possess international significance in terms of both historical and practical impact.
When I carefully read the documents of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, I felt they confirmed the basic position I once expressed: regarding the role of the vanguard of human progress, the protagonist of the 18th century was the French Revolution of 1789; the protagonist of the 20th century was Russia’s Great October Socialist Revolution; and the 21st century is led by the People's Republic of China. Socialism with Chinese characteristics will exert a profound influence on the course of world history. The prediction of the German philosopher Hegel is quite justified: "World history travels from East to West, for Europe is absolutely the end of History, and Asia the beginning." [3]
China has set the development goal of reaching a level of moderate prosperity (xiaokang) [4] for all, establishing a goal worth striving for for people of all countries. On this earth, I see no leader of any other country who can present such a long-term development prospect to their entire people as the Chinese leadership does—namely, the bright prospect for the mid-21st century, the centennial of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Given the various risks and challenges facing today's world, the power of China's example possesses a future value that must not be underestimated.
I come from a Germany that existed from 1949 to 1990: the German Democratic Republic (GDR) [5]. From its founding to its end, the GDR maintained friendly diplomatic relations with China. In contrast, it took the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) a very long time to recognize the "One China" principle and to recognize China as the sole legal representative in the United Nations. Even thirty years after the reunification of the two Germanys, a deep phenomenon of division remains—not only between East and West, but a new "Berlin Wall" within society. People's anxiety about the future grows by the day. In today’s capitalist society, one cannot feel the public welfare, collective spirit, social justice, social care, social security, and solidarity that existed in the former GDR. If it is said that before 1990 there were two hostile systems—socialism and capitalism—then today's Germany has seen the reappearance of a watershed formed by wealth disparity; perhaps Marx and Engels would describe this phenomenon as the contradictory relationship between wage-labor and capital.
In December 2021, the Federal Republic of Germany formed a three-party coalition government. It is called the "traffic light" government: red refers to the Social Democratic Party, green to the Green Party, and yellow to the Free Democratic Party. The new federal government emerged at a moment when international tensions were escalating and the situation in Europe was intensifying again. The Green Party's entry into the government reminds me of Joschka Fischer, the Green Party Foreign Minister from 1998 to 2005. Minister Fischer granted legitimacy to the first German military action since World War II: the participation of German federal forces in the NATO-led Kosovo War.
The new German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, also seems set to maintain this Green Party tradition. She promotes a so-called "values-oriented foreign policy," which in reality is ultimately about exporting "German values" to other countries and thereby intervening in their sovereign affairs. By comparison, former Chancellor Angela Merkel was smart enough to know that this kind of crude anti-communist rhetoric and behavior was of no help whatsoever to Germany’s pursuit of economic and trade interests. Ms. Baerbock intends to fundamentally change Merkel's line. She has vowed to show toughness toward China. This approach will cause the most intense and real damage to German interests. Adhering to NATO's anti-China strategy is a policy that ignores all historical lessons of Germany and heads toward the brink of disaster. Precisely because of this stance, she was welcomed during her recent visit to NATO headquarters.
Admittedly, the Federal Republic of Germany is not the German Empire, and today’s generations do not need to take responsibility for the criminal policies committed by Imperial Germany against China. However, history should not be forgotten. Just over 100 years ago, Kaiser Wilhelm II, when seeing off the Imperial Navy on an expedition to Qingdao, issued the order to fire on Chinese people; he wanted to make it so that no Chinese person "would ever again dare to look askance at a German!" [6] For this historical reason, I consider the German Navy's recent dispatch of a frigate to the South China Sea to be a provocative act. Therefore, it is crucial that socialism with Chinese characteristics not only strengthens its economic power but also possesses the military strength to guard against aggressive imperialism.
I am impressed by the fact that China has proposed a detailed and balanced peace plan to the people of the world. I read with great interest General Secretary Xi Jinping’s call at the 19th National Congress of the CPC to build a "community with a shared future for humanity." In his speech, he promised that China will never develop itself at the expense of other countries’ interests, nor will it ever give up its own legitimate rights; no one should fantasize about making China swallow the bitter fruit of damage to its own interests. China pursues a defensive national defense policy. China's development does not constitute a threat to any country. No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion. This is a proactive and humane declaration of a future development prospect and a firm response to the "China threat theory" that the West has been trumpeting for months in endless articles.
Although China is Germany's number one trading partner, German propaganda regarding China's image remains far removed from reality. Western neoliberals strive to vilify the "Belt and Road" initiative—proposed by socialist China for equality and mutual benefit—because what they find most intolerable is that China's leading power is the Communist Party of China. They most hope to see a China without the Communist Party. Their propaganda instigates nationalist and Sinophobic sentiments. Their actions do not serve Germany’s interests. Here, I am reminded of a saying by the 19th-century German Social Democratic leader August Bebel: "If my enemies praise me, then I must have made a mistake." The inverse logic means: the more frantic, stupid, and absurdly Western politicians and their media vilify China, the more clearly it shows that the People's Republic of China is on the right path. This is especially obvious in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. China controlled the epidemic better than Western countries. If the pandemic persists for a long time, people will face a series of questions: How will we survive in the future? Can we replace a society based on mutual deception with a society of solidarity and mutual assistance? Can we replace the "law of the jungle" logic of the exploiting classes with socialist humanitarianism? Over a century ago, the German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg, in her book The Crisis of Social Democracy (the Junius Pamphlet, April 1916), quoted a famous saying by Engels: "Bourgeois society faces a dilemma: either a transition to socialism or a regression into barbarism." China has already escaped this impasse; China has already made its choice. This country is walking on the bright road of socialism, and other countries will follow.