Marxism Research Network
Unofficial English Translation

The 6th Socialist International Forum was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 4th

News & Updates

On May 4, 2018, the International Symposium Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Marx and the 6th International Forum on Socialism were held at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (the Central Party School of the Communist Party of Vietnam) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The theme of this year's conference was "The Intellectual Legacy and Contemporary Significance of Karl Marx." Nguyen Xuan Thang, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Chairman of the Central Theory Council, and President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, delivered the keynote speech. The conference was attended by dozens of leaders from major Vietnamese Party and government organs, representatives from the Propoganda and Education Commission of the CPV Central Committee, the Central Theory Council, the CPV Central Party School, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), and other research institutions, as well as over 300 experts and scholars from Chinese and Laotian academic circles. Professor Jin Minqing, Deputy Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), spoke on behalf of the Chinese delegation. More than 20 scholars from China participated in the seminar, and over 10 experts delivered reports at the meeting.

The Conference Rostrum

Nguyen Xuan Thang delivered a speech on behalf of the CPV Central Party School, in which he spoke highly of the theoretical value of Marx's intellectual legacy. He pointed out that as a genius theorist and revolutionary, Marx left us a rich and vast intellectual legacy, making contributions in various fields such as philosophy, sociology, history, and economics. The historical materialist conception of history and the theory of surplus value, as Marx's two great discoveries, scientifically revealed the laws of development of human history. Lenin affirmed that Marx's thought is a scientific and revolutionary doctrine, and supplemented and developed Marx's thought in combination with the revolution and construction practices of the world’s first socialist state established after the victory of the October Revolution, forming Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism has already become the theoretical armament of the world’s working class. In practical application, it needs to be combined with specific historical conditions, conform to reality, and be applied flexibly, so as to achieve innovation and development through creative application. As far as Vietnam is concerned, President Ho Chi Minh absorbed, applied, and developed Marxism-Leninism, giving rise to Ho Chi Minh Thought [1]. Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought have become the ideological foundation and guide to action for the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Nguyen Xuan Thang, Member of the Secretariat of the CPV Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Theory Council, and President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

History has proven that the Marxist-Leninist evaluation of capitalist society and the beautiful vision for socialism are both correct, laying the theoretical foundation for practice. To this end, he argued, first, we must affirm the value of Marx's intellectual legacy; second, when evaluating and applying Marxism-Leninism, we should avoid dogmatism, and pay special attention to the need to continue the struggle and oppose and criticize erroneous viewpoints while upholding Marxism-Leninism; third, we should continue to supplement and develop Marxism through flexible application and innovative development; fourth, we must continue to use Marxism to solve new problems.

Professor Jin Minqing, Deputy Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

Jin Minqing first introduced the background of the 6th International Forum on Socialism. Founded in 2013, the forum is an annual international socialist academic forum hosted in rotation by the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Institute of Philosophy of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), and the Lao Academy of Social Sciences (LASS). The fact that the Vietnamese side held the theoretical symposium commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth together with the 6th International Forum on Socialism fully demonstrates the high importance our Vietnamese comrades attach to this forum. Jin Minqing informed the assembly that at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, the CPC Central Committee was solemnly holding a grand meeting to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Marx. Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting and delivered an important speech, speaking highly of Marx and Marxism. The reason why all countries commemorate Marx is that he held the most thorough, profound, extensive, and firm position of the people; because he possessed a great power of truth, giving the world, especially the proletariat, the weapon to understand the world; because he possessed a great power of practice, providing a guide to action for the working class and the whole world; and because the Marxism he founded possesses great world-historical significance and has lastingly guided the development of human history.

Subsequently, Jin Minqing focused on the connotation and basic characteristics of the Sinicization of Marxism. He argued that the Sinicization of Marxism is a process of autonomous and creative combination through the interaction of multiple elements. First, the Sinicization of Marxism is a dynamic process involving the interaction of multiple elements including the subject of development, Marxist theory, Chinese reality, the process of combination, and the results of combination. Second, the Sinicization of Marxism is an independent and creative process of combination; it is a process of learning, absorption, integration, regeneration, breakthrough, and innovation. Sinicized Marxism is essentially a regenerated form of Marxism. Third, the Sinicization of Marxism is an active combination based on scientific methodology. Through the efforts of the Communist Party of China, the historical process of the Sinicization of Marxism has continuously moved forward. Through this development, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. At the dawn of the New Era, contemporary Chinese Communists founded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which is the latest theoretical achievement of the Sinicization of Marxism. This thought profoundly answers major questions such as where the Communist Party of China is going, where socialism with Chinese characteristics is going, and where the contemporary world is going. It has added much original new content to Marxism, allowing 21st-century Marxism to radiate an even more brilliant light of truth.

In the summary of the conference, Nguyen Xuan Thang pointed out that experts and scholars from China, Laos, and Vietnam gathered to affirm the theoretical value and contemporary significance of Marx's thought from various fields, paying tribute to Marx himself and his great ideas through the form of theoretical discussion. The speeches at the conference reached a consensus on the following aspects:

  1. Affirmed the contribution of Marx himself and his thought to humanity, considering Marx a genius theorist and revolutionary whose thought is a great and comprehensive doctrine that has made great contributions to human progress.
  2. Marx’s thinking, methods, and dialectical and historical materialism have provided theoretical guidance for us to solve various class and world problems.
  3. The speeches affirmed from all aspects that Marx's thought is a legacy of human thought, and that the practice of each country needs to start from its own reality and flexibly use Marx’s ideas to solve the practical problems of socialism.
  4. Marxism faces new opportunities and challenges.
  5. We will continue to deeply study and develop Marxism. In addition, Nguyen Xuan Thang particularly affirmed the achievements and characteristics of the localization of Marxism in China, noting that China regards the Sinicization of Marxism as a process and has put forward views such as "inclusive globalization," which are worth learning from.

Group photo of Chinese scholars

It is reported that the symposium received a total of 100 conference papers from experts and scholars. Among them, nearly 20 Chinese experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Renmin University of China, Tsinghua University, China Agricultural University, Wuhan University, Zhengzhou University, and Guangxi University provided 16 papers. The scholars' papers affirmed the scientific nature and contemporary value of Marx's intellectual legacy, emphasized that today's socialist countries should flexibly apply and develop Marxism, and affirmed the theoretical and practical achievements made by China, Vietnam, and Laos in applying and developing Marxism in a spirit of innovation—particularly expressing affirmation for the new theoretical and practical achievements made by socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Vietnamese side stated that the papers of all other participants will be compiled and translated into English by the conference organizers and published in both English and Vietnamese.

After preliminary consultations among the three parties from China, Vietnam, and Laos, it was decided that the 7th International Forum on Socialism will be held in Dalian, China, in July 2019. The theme of the conference is tentatively set as "Party Building and Socialist Development in the New Era."

(Contributed by Pan Xihua)