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Expert Review Meeting on the New Trends in the 2021 International Communist Movement and the Yellow Book of International Communist Movement (2021-2022) Successfully Held

News & Updates

According to the Marxism Institute News (Mayanyan Wang):

On December 9, 2021, the "Expert Review Meeting on New Trends in the Development of the International Communist Movement and the Yellow Book of the International Communist Movement (2021-2022)" was successfully held via Tencent Meeting. Over forty researchers from more than ten institutions—including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Peking University, Shandong University, Xiamen University, Yunnan University, Soochow University, Wenzhou University, and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences—engaged in a heated discussion surrounding the new trends in the development of the international communist movement in 2021.

Address by Professor Jiang Hui, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Professor Jiang Hui—Editor-in-Chief of the Yellow Book of the International Communist Movement, Vice President of CASS, Director of the Institute of Contemporary China, and Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies—attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Professor Jiang first expressed his gratitude to the authoritative experts in the international communist movement and the members of the project team from various domestic research institutions. Vice President Jiang stated that, thanks to the guidance of these experts, the quality of the Yellow Book of the International Communist Movement has been guaranteed, with its standard rising steadily over the three years since its initial publication, becoming better with each passing year. He expressed his hope that, with the experts' assistance, the Yellow Book could be developed into a boutique scholarly work for the discipline, and that the process of writing this "Blue Book" series [1] would drive the cultivation of talent and the disciplinary development of international communist movement studies. Subsequently, Jiang Hui shared his views on the situation of the international communist movement and world socialism, integrating the spirit of the Resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee [2], and provided guiding opinions for the drafting of the Yellow Book.

Vice President Jiang pointed out that in November of this year, the Party Central Committee convened the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee, which adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century. This document comprehensively summarized the glorious journey, major achievements, and historical experience of the Communist Party of China since its founding one hundred years ago. This requires us to integrate the study and comprehension of the spirit of the Resolution with our research work, seriously examining the new theoretical judgments and spirit within it to guide our research into Marxism, the international communist movement, and world socialism. The nearly century-long history of the CPC’s development is a vital component of the international communist movement and the world socialist movement, occupying a prominent position and making a massive contribution. History eloquently proves that the CPC is a steadfast believer in and faithful practitioner of Marxism and scientific socialism; an active promoter and conscious pioneer of the international communist movement and world social movement; and a powerful leader and major contributor to the innovative development of 21st-century Marxism and world socialism. We must conduct in-depth research into the historical experience of the CPC’s century of struggle and its significant contributions to and importance for the international communist and world socialist movements.

The year 2021 marks several major historical milestones in the history of the international communist movement. Among these, the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune revolution are two major historical events that still merit reflection today. We must continue to study and summarize these significant events in the history of the international communist movement to provide historical lessons [3] for the movement to emerge from its low ebb and move toward revitalization.

Since 2020, under the combined influence of the "changes unseen in a century" [4] and the COVID-19 pandemic, the evolution of the international landscape has accelerated, and the world has entered a period of turbulent change. To grasp the developmental trends of the global landscape, we must continue to track and study the latest dynamics of foreign Communist Parties and the development of world socialist countries, grasping the new changes in the balance of power between socialism and capitalism, and striving to make scientific predictions regarding the global trajectory.

Professor Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Institute of Marxism Studies at CASS, presided over the opening ceremony and raised requirements and expectations for the key research topics and the drafting of the Yellow Book.

Keynote Report

In the keynote report session, Professor Lin Jianhua, Vice President of the Institute of Marxism Studies at CASS, delivered a report titled "What the CPC Is and What It Aims to Do from the Perspective of the International Communist Movement." He explained the mission and responsibilities of the CPC through the lens of the international communist movement.

Professor Lin Jianhua pointed out that upholding the Party's leadership is not only a scientific understanding derived from reviewing history and summarizing experience, but also a fundamental principle that we must adhere to at all times in the future. The Party's leadership is not only a major issue in Marxist theory of Party building but also a criterion for judging whether a social movement engaged in by the proletariat constitutes an international communist movement. How can the CPC maintain its leadership? The key lies in its correct answer to, and constant mindfulness of, the fundamental question: what the CPC is and what it aims to do. On this basis, he answered the question of what the CPC is: the CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time, the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. The people's standpoint is the fundamental standpoint of the CPC; serving the people whole-heartedly is the fundamental purpose of the CPC; and "selflessness for the sake of the people" [5] is the highest state for CPC members. The CPC always represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible range of the Chinese people; it does not have any special interests of its own, and it never represents the interests of any individual interest group, power group, or privileged stratum. Furthermore, he answered from the history of the Party’s struggle what the CPC aims to do and what it will continue to do as it moves from the past into the future. "What the CPC aims to do" is not only a question to be answered and resolved at the time of the Party's founding, but one that runs through the entire process of the Party’s century of struggle. For a hundred years, the CPC has always united and led the people of all ethnic groups across the country in unremitting struggle for national independence, the liberation of the people, and the realization of national prosperity and people's happiness. The Party’s century of struggle has fundamentally changed the future and destiny of the Chinese people, opened the correct path for achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, demonstrated the powerful vitality of Marxism, and profoundly influenced the course of world history. Today, the Party has united the Chinese people and embarked on a "new journey to face new tests" [6] to achieve the Second Centenary Goal. On the new journey of the New Era, the CPC will also comprehensively build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful, and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Expert Discussion

During the expert discussion session, various scholars—including Professor Hu Zhenliang from the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, CASS Honorary Academician Xu Shicheng, Researcher Chai Shangjin from the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Researcher Xu Baoyou from the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the CPC, Professor Cui Guitian, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Socialism at Shandong University, Researcher Yu Haiqing from the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, and Professor Guo Chunsheng from the Institute of Contemporary Socialism at Shandong University—presented academic reports on the new trends in the 2021 international communist movement. These were titled respectively: "Breaking the Theme: 21st Century Socialist Modernization," "New Dynamics in the Development of Communist Parties in Latin America," "History and New Trends of the Communist Movement in West Asia and North Africa," "New Ideological Characteristics of Communist Parties, Workers' Parties, and Other Left-Wing Parties," "New Trends in the Reforms of Contemporary Foreign Socialist Countries," "New Developments and Situations of Foreign Communist Parties in 2021," and "The Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the Context of the 30th Anniversary of the Collapse of the Soviet Union."

Thematic Discussion and Expert Review

In the thematic discussion and expert review session, the scholars responsible for writing the book reported on their respective topics and discussed the difficulties encountered during the writing process with the Yellow Book's guiding experts. The experts provided individual comments and detailed answers to relevant questions. The authors and attending graduate students agreed that such discussions are highly beneficial for improving writing skills.

Finally, Professor Pan Jine, Director of the International Communist Movement Research Department of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Yellow Book of the International Communist Movement, delivered the closing remarks. She expressed her heartfelt thanks to the experts for taking the time to attend the seminar and stated that, under the leadership and guidance of Vice President Jiang Hui and with the full support of the experts, the project team must redouble its efforts to build the Yellow Book into a hallmark work guiding the development of the discipline of international communist movement studies. Simultaneously, she expressed hope that through the writing of the Yellow Book, a research team combining the old, middle-aged, and young [7] could be cultivated to drive the disciplinary development of research into the international communist movement and world socialism, making our due contribution to the development of world socialism and the international communist movement.

The seminar was hosted by the International Communist Movement Research Department of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies. Researcher Xuan Chuanshu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Chinese Marxism at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Researcher Pan Jine, and Researcher Yuan Xiuli, Deputy Director of the International Communist Movement Department, successively presided over the three discussion sessions.