On October 20, Jin Minqing, Vice President of the Academy of Marxism, Led a Delegation for an Academic Visit to Belgium
On October 20, 2018, in order to promote Marxist academic exchange, Professor Jin Minqing, Deputy Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), led a delegation to visit the Institute of Marxism in Brussels, Belgium. After being expelled by the French authorities in 1845, Marx moved to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where he lived for over three years until his expulsion by the Belgian authorities in early 1848. During this period, Marx authored several seminal documents, including the Theses on Feuerbach and The German Ideology, completing the creation of the materialist conception of history and achieving the critical transition from a revolutionary democrat to a communist, and from historical idealism to historical materialism. In the spring of 1846, Marx and Engels founded the Communist Correspondence Committee [1] in Brussels, making ideological and organizational preparations for the establishment of a proletarian revolutionary party.
On October 20, Professor Jin Minqing and his delegation held a symposium at the Institute of Marxism in Brussels. The delegation and the experts from the Institute of Marxism engaged in a lively discussion centered on "The Current Development and Challenges of Communist Parties in Europe." Professor Jin Minqing introduced the general state of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the developmental history of the Sinicization of Marxism, specifically the significant innovations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the rich connotations of the New Era, and its global significance.
Masence Staquet, Director of the Institute of Marxism in Brussels, introduced the state of Marxist research and training in Belgium. Jo Cottenier, a member of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Belgium [2], introduced the development of the Workers' Party of Belgium. He noted that in recent years, the Workers' Party of Belgium has adopted several effective measures, leading to an increase in the party's vote share and parliamentary seats in many major Belgian cities and even nationwide, with Its influence showing an expanding trend.
The two sides discussed the challenges facing European communist parties after the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe [3], the Communist Party of China's explorations and major innovations regarding the socialist market economy, and the prospects for the global socialist movement in the New Era. The two sides also reached a preliminary intention for further exchange and cooperation in the future.
On October 20, Professor Jin Minqing and his delegation took a group photo with experts from the Institute of Marxism in Brussels. Members of the delegation participating in the symposium included researchers Pan Jin'e, Chen Zhigang, and Zhang Jiangang, associate researcher Wang Yonglei, and assistant researcher Lei Xiaohuan. Participants from the Institute of Marxism in Brussels also included Tony Busselen, Dominique Meeüs, and Vincent Duthoy.
The two sides presented books to each other as gifts.
(Drafted by Chen Zhigang and Lei Xiaohuan; Photography by Zhang Jiangang and Pan Jin'e)