Guo Taiying: New Explorations of the Path to Socialism by the Communist Party of Belgium in the 21st Century

Founded in 1921, the Communist Party of Belgium (CPB) has a developmental history spanning over a century. Since entering the 21st century, the CPB has convened several congresses to actively explore a path to socialism suited to the country’s national realities, achieving new developments and exhibiting new characteristics. As an integral part of the Belgian workers' movement and the international communist movement, exploring the CPB’s theoretical features and practical models provides important reference points for analyzing the evolution, rise, and fall of communist parties in Western capitalist countries.

I. The Historical Evolution of the Communist Party of Belgium Based on the struggle objectives and characteristics of the CPB across different periods, its developmental process can be roughly divided into the following three stages.

(1) 1921 to the end of World War II: The preliminary exploration stage, establishing and growing amidst revolutionary struggle The founding of the CPB was a product of the development of the international communist movement. Similar to most communist parties in Western Europe, the Russian October Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet socialist system created important external conditions for the party's birth. From a historical perspective, the founding of the CPB was the result of internal conflicts and struggles within Belgian left-wing political parties.

Starting in 1916, left-wing groups of the Belgian Labour Party (POB) ^[1] emerged and became active within the Young Socialist Guards in Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Liège, and Charleroi. Taking the October Revolution as a beacon, they gradually identified with Marxist positions and regrouped. In 1920, the Communist Party of Belgium, which defended the positions of the Second Congress of the Communist International (Comintern), was established. A small number of hesitant individuals within the POB, the "minority socialists" known as the "Friends of the Exploited," persisted in holding "peace meetings" in Stockholm with German Social Democrats during the war and were unenthusiastic about the October Revolution. They essentially wanted to return to the pre-war program of the POB and were typical centrists—offering radical critiques of leaders while always using the excuse of "not losing contact with the masses" to attempt to fill the social-democratic void, though they failed to propose any viable solutions. In 1921, they finally broke with the POB. However, they believed that the CPB at that time was not a party of mass action, but rather a sectarian political group composed of four or five propaganda circles, characterized more by anarchism than communism. In the initial years following the end of World War I, the rift between the leadership of Belgian socialism and its left-wing opposition centered mainly on the issues of government cooperation and "ministerialism" ^[2]. The left-wing minority, led by Joseph Jacquemotte, the national secretary of the employees' union, strenuously opposed the socialists joining coalition governments to direct state affairs. Due to intensifying internal divisions between the majority and minority factions, the left wing of the Labour Party led by Jacquemotte eventually merged with other communist groups led by War Van Overstraeten on September 3, 1921, to form a new Communist Party of Belgium.

The CPB was a typical party composed of young radicals. As a marginal minor party with fewer than a thousand members, it struggled for survival in the fissures of domestic and international circumstances from its inception. In its early years, it employed three main forms of struggle: first, active participation in national parliamentary elections to win votes. The CPB received only 1.64% of the vote (34,149 votes) in the 1925 legislative elections, but achieved significant breakthroughs in the 1926 municipal elections in Brussels, Liège, and Charleroi. Nationwide, the CPB won 66,000 votes and 25 municipal council seats. Second, actively launching social movements through the Communist Youth League. The Communist Youth League (hereafter "CYL") played a considerable role in the strikes of 1932, enabling the CPB to establish its first strongholds. Young militants served as liaisons between picket lines and coordinated actions. In 1932, the CYL organized a bicycle march in Brussels and even received support from the French Communist Party in the north. The CYL also successfully conducted pioneering experiments with "red" pickets alongside the socialists, at a time when formal links between the CPB and the Socialist Party had not yet been established; this movement tripled the CPB's membership. Unfortunately, this success was short-lived; due to errors by the CYL and, more significantly, severe repression by the police and corporate management, the communists were unable to consolidate their gains. Their publications were confiscated in numerous raids, and as many as 187 activists were arrested, including many leaders, resulting in heavy losses. Third, actively carrying out underground struggles against fascism. From 1934 onwards, it was precisely the reorientation toward anti-fascism and the United Front line of the Popular Front that allowed the party to rise again through large-scale successes.

During World War II, the primary and central task of the CPB was to support a united front of all patriotic people and promote national liberation. Belgian communists were the main force behind the strike waves of the 1930s, the anti-Nazi resistance movement during World War II, the opposition to the Belgian monarchy, and the resistance against the suppression of the workers' movement. During the German invasion, the CPB was the only Belgian political party that never ceased its activities from the date of occupation until national liberation, maintaining its organizational structure intact. During this period, communist ideology was defined as criminal by Germany; under German oppression, the CPB moved underground. In 1936, the CPB led workers in strikes to win the right to paid leave. In the same year, with military support from German and Italian fascists, Franco launched a civil war in Spain against the Popular Front government (composed of Communists, Socialists, and Republicans). Many CPB members joined the International Brigades, even serving in leadership positions. Based on these experiences, during the Nazi German occupation of Belgium in 1940, the CPB seized the opportunity to organize the first resistance movements. In May 1941, CPB leader Julien Lahaut organized the "Strike of the 100,000" workers against the occupation, sabotaging Nazi German arms production. During the war, while the communists formulated a political line to defeat fascism and Nazism, they failed to develop a political line for how to attain power in Belgium after the expulsion of Nazi Germany, failing to seize the moment to rise with the momentum. At the time of liberation in September 1944, the resistance organizations led by the CPB numbered as many as 40,000 people, while the government gendarmerie returning to Belgium from London numbered only about 7,000.

Resistance fighters opposed the government’s order to disarm the guerrillas, refused to lay down their arms, and held demonstrations on the streets of Brussels, but the party leadership did not oppose the order. The struggle during this period was particularly difficult and the losses were heavy: approximately 5,500 militants were sent to concentration camps, and over 2,000 were killed.

(2) 1950s–1980s: The stage of circuitous wandering, seeking survival within the Cold War framework The immediate post-WWII period was the heyday of the CPB's development. Prior to the war, the CPB had been a negligible minor party; thanks to its heroic performance during the war, the party experienced a brief period of prosperity in the 1950s, gaining not only the trust of the proletariat but also a certain degree of prestige among the middle class and intellectuals. Membership grew to over 100,000, and the party newspaper became one of the most widely circulated in the country. After national liberation, the central task of the CPB shifted from striving for national independence to resolutely defending the interests of the working class—namely, striving to promote industrial development and fighting to improve the daily lives of a working class devastated by war—playing a significant role in post-war national reconstruction. In the five pre-war elections (1925–1939), the CPB’s general election vote count ranged from 34,435 to 143,223, accounting for 1.6% to 6.0% of the total votes for the Chamber of Representatives (1925–1936); the party's seats in the Chamber varied between 1 (1929) and 9 (1936, 1939). On February 17, 1946, the CPB obtained 12.68% of the total valid votes in the Chamber of Representatives election, winning 23 out of 202 seats. In the 1946 national general election, the CPB obtained 1.3% of the total vote (including 5.5% in the Flemish region, 17% in the Brussels region, and 22% in the Walloon region). In the Senate elections of 1946 and 1947, it received over 300,000 votes, and 17 members were elected as senators. The CPB twice formed coalition governments with the Socialist Party and the Liberal Party, with two communists holding key positions in the Van Acker cabinet—Albert Marteaux was appointed Minister of Public Health, and Secretary-General Edgar Lalmand served as Minister of Food and Supplies.

However, with changes in the domestic situation, the CPB was gradually pushed out of the government starting in 1947, after which its influence declined sharply. At the Vilvoorde Congress in 1954, the CPB abandoned the pursuit of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" and sought an alliance with social democracy. In 1957, the 12th Congress of the CPB first proposed the hope of a peaceful transition to socialism based on Belgium’s specific conditions. At the end of February 1961, André Renard, leader of the socialist trade union General Federation of Belgian Labour (FGTB), founded the "Walloon Popular Movement," which aimed to replace the anti-capitalist and revolutionary struggle with "anti-capitalist structural reforms" and "federalism." Following the great strike of 1961, the conflict between Flemings and Walloons intensified, and Belgium's "linguistic war" reached its peak. Influenced by this, the CPB leadership also split into Walloon and Flemish factions. In 1963, Jacques Grippa, a prominent CPB leader who had been active in the party since the 1930s and had led the Brussels Federal Committee, was expelled for "opposing revisionism," indicating the further intensification of internal party conflict. In March 1982, the CPB convened its 24th Congress and adopted a new Party Constitution. After its defeat in the 1985 general election, the CPB lost its only two remaining seats in parliament. Since then, the CPB has not won any seats in parliamentary elections. In 1987, the CPB announced its alignment with the ranks of Eurocommunism ^[3].

(3) 1990s to the present: The stage of adjustment and transformation, seeking development amidst the low tide of the international communist movement Born out of the vigorous wave of the international communist movement, the CPB’s development has been deeply affected by shifts in the global situation. In 1989, based on the principle of federalizing the party, the 26th Congress of the CPB split the party into the French-speaking Communist Party (PC - Wallonia-Brussels) and the Flemish-speaking Communist Party (KP), marking the definitive decline of the CPB. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe caused a powerful shock within the CPB. Both the French-speaking Brussels committee and the Flemish-speaking party committee believed the party's historical mission had concluded and prepared to transform into left-wing political organizations such as a "Red-Green Forum" or "Red-Green Movement." The French-speaking Walloon party, however, insisted on retaining the name of the Communist Party and continuing the struggle through the doctrine of class struggle.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Communist Party of Belgium (CPB) has consistently adhered to theoretical reforms oriented toward socialism. To meet political challenges, the Party has continuously refined its theoretical program and political strategy, aiming to play an active role in Belgium’s social and political movements. Since the Congress held on October 18, 2008, Belgium’s social environment has undergone significant changes. To restore the Party's ideological cohesion and unity, the Congresses held on January 28 and March 24, 2012, reviewed the Party's historical role, formulated a new constitution, and established an organizational structure suited to its own development. In June 2018, the CPB convened its 36th National Congress. This Congress decided to abandon the name "Communist Party of Wallonia-Brussels" and reclaim the name and identity of the "Communist Party of Belgium" ^[4], using this as a starting point to resume actions and unswervingly explore a socialist path suited to the Party's and the country's national conditions. The Congress reviewed the CPB's nearly century-long history of struggle, introduced shifts in the Party line, decided to adopt a new political program and constitution, and elected a new Central Committee and Party leadership. Furthermore, the Party actively participates in the international communist movement, advocating for a worldwide alliance against US imperialism and NATO to stop wars and bury colonialism. Overall, although the development of the CPB has trended toward decline, it has never exited the stage of history.

II. New Developments in the Theory of the Communist Party of Belgium

Since the start of the 21st century, facing changes in the external environment and seeking a place in Belgian politics, the CPB has consistently persisted in theoretical reforms toward a socialist direction, actively exploring the road of socialist construction.

(1) Adapting to Epochal Changes: Seeking Socialist Alternatives through the Critique of Capitalism

1. Regarding the Systemic Crisis of Capitalism. The CPB points out that "the objective and inherent irreconcilable contradictions of the capitalist mode of production eventually lead to increasingly frequent, more lasting, and more destructive cyclical crises," and that "multiple crises under the capitalist system have become extremely acute." First is the crisis of economic development. The COVID-19 pandemic directly led to the collapse of the capitalist system based on trade globalization—the circulation of people and goods was blocked, national fiscal deficits worsened, inflation rates rose sharply, and ultra-nationalism and right-wing forces surged, leaving the capitalist system facing unprecedented challenges. Second is the social crisis caused by the alienation of science and technology. In a world dominated by the capitalist economy, science and technology are alienated into means for increasing profit and controlling life-support systems, becoming tools for enslaving humanity. Third is the ecological and environmental crisis. Capitalism has destroyed the relationship between humanity and nature, triggering an ecological crisis. For over a century, the Earth's population has grown rapidly; to meet the energy demands required for industrialization, capitalist countries have engaged in unrestrained production and extraction, leading to increasingly barren land, soil degradation, a sharp decline in biodiversity, and global warming. Fourth is the political crisis triggered by the prevalence of militarism and imperialism. The CPB believes that "capitalism carries war, just as clouds carry the storm." Western countries led by the United States, in order to maintain their economic and political hegemony and using war machines like NATO as a medium, have spent billions of dollars conducting "proxy wars" across all continents, ignoring the needs of the people and further intensifying geopolitical conflicts.

2. Regarding NATO and the European Union. Western countries often intervene in the internal affairs of other nations in the name of defending democracy or humanitarian peace, causing international relations to grow increasingly tense. The CPB emphasizes that the realization of peace is inseparable from the struggle for socialism, and strongly demands that Belgium withdraw from NATO and the EU. The CPB believes the EU is an unelected supranational institution, an alliance between imperialist states that serves bourgeois monopoly groups through its institutions and its economic, political, and cultural policies, continuously increasing the exploitation of European workers and defending the capitalist system. The EU is wrongly described as a tool for promoting peace, stability, and progress. In fact, the EU has always played a leading role in anti-communism, which has become its official ideology; it distorts history, slanders the massive contributions made by socialism to social progress and worker liberation, and even obscures the decisive role of the Soviet Union in defeating fascism during World War II. The EU has behaved extremely irresponsibly in European affairs, proving powerless against European debt while the unemployment rates of member states grow higher, running counter to its proclaimed goal of being a "guarantor of peace, stability, and well-being for all on the European continent." Regarding the issue of "EU-exit," the CPB emphasizes that the experience of the UK’s "Brexit" referendum can be drawn upon, linking the withdrawal from the EU and NATO to the struggle for socialism. This is a necessary condition for collectivization and for the people to obtain ownership of the means of production and land, an inevitable prerequisite for meeting the contemporary needs of the people, and the basis for abolishing the capitalist system of exploitation.

3. Regarding Religion. The CPB believes that the issue of religion must be viewed through a dialectical lens. On one hand, for Communists, the world is composed of two opposing classes: the owners of the means of production and the exploited or proletarians who survive by selling their labor power. "Proletarians of the world, unite!" means that regardless of nationality, culture, or potential religious affiliation, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim workers are first and foremost workers, all belonging to the international proletariat. Belgium is a country with a large religious population; 700,000 Muslims contribute to Belgium's economic development and cultural enrichment. On the other hand, the CPB believes that religion under capitalist society has become a tool for the bourgeoisie to divide workers, whereas in a socialist system, the religious sphere is strictly separated from the political, economic, and social spheres. The Party opposes religious obscurantism and believes that no practice in the religious sphere should be placed above the law. The Party condemns Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia, and condemns the use of the "terrorist threat" as a political tool to develop repressive state apparatuses and obscure the impact of anti-social policies on workers. At the same time, it points out that the struggle against religious obscurantism must be realized through the development of working-class consciousness; priority should be given to education and social integration, separation from the church, and the development of scientific culture and critical thinking in teaching, advocating for the establishment of a single, democratic, and secular public education institution.

(2) Grounded in Social, National, and Party Conditions: Reinterpreting the Theoretical Content of Socialism and Persisting in the Independent Exploration of a Socialist Road

The CPB still adheres to the guidance of Marxism and Leninism, with the revolutionary nature of its ideological and political action being its primary characteristic. The Party's fundamental goal remains the overthrow of capitalism, the construction of socialism, and the struggle to realize communism; the ultimate objective is to end the exploitation of man by man, end economic, social, political, and cultural alienation, and achieve the free and well-rounded development of every individual. In recent years, the CPB has passed a series of new political resolutions, reinterpreting the Party's basic understanding of the content of socialism under the new epochal background and determining the Party's ideological and political lines for the New Era.

1. Regarding the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Replacing the concept of "dictatorship of the proletariat" with "workers' power." The theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat is the essence of Marxism. Since the 20th century, with the emergence of fascism and Nazism, combined with the demonization of the Soviet Union, the right wing and its media have distorted the meaning of "dictatorship of the proletariat" in Marxism, interpreting the word "dictatorship" as the power of a minority or as "tyranny." Amidst the rendering of the Cold War and anti-communist atmosphere, the 11th Congress of the Communist Party of Belgium in 1954 decided to abandon the "dictatorship of the proletariat" as a guiding principle. Today, right-wing forces are once again attempting to conflate communism with fascism, labeling them "populism" or "totalitarianism," and equating "dictatorship of the proletariat" and communism with "dictatorship" itself. Anti-communist propaganda based on the concept of totalitarianism, through its powerful media channels, has exerted a certain influence in mainstream society and even among a significant portion of the working class. In the view of the CPB, the essence of "power" is a qualification collectively granted to a leading subject to dispose of a share of public value resources. Although the CPB acknowledges the Marxist connotation of "dictatorship of the proletariat"—which originally refers to the absolute power of the working class over the owners of the means of production (the bourgeoisie) and is inseparable from the history of the organized labor movement, being applicable to the transition from capitalism to socialism and a necessary requirement for socialism—in the current environment of struggle, the connotations and extensions of "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie" have shifted. In a certain sense, the terms "dictatorship" and "dictatorship of the proletariat" have acquired negative and outdated connotations, respectively; using these terms indiscriminately would plunge the Party into a state of greater political isolation. The CPB believes the concept of "workers' power" embodies the importance attached to the political power and social status of the working class, possesses characters of advancing with the times, and is more easily accepted by workers. Therefore, the use of the "workers' power" concept has become a focal point for the CPB in adjusting its future political line.

2. Regarding Class Struggle. Replacing the slogan of "class struggle" with "class solidarity." The CPB emphasizes that the slogan of "class struggle" indiscriminately opposes the working class against the bourgeoisie; while applicable to 20th-century Russia, which was ravaged by war and had just emerged from serfdom, it is clearly untenable in an industrial country like Belgium. Furthermore, this slogan treats social democracy as the "class enemy," obscuring the historical origins and friendship shared by the CPB and social democrats, and ignoring the achievements the CPB made in the anti-fascist front and the unified struggle of the labor movement. The CPB explicitly rejects the view within the Party of "breaking with the rule of monopoly capital in a crude manner," believing that Belgium’s socialist transformation is a "process." Only by "deeply implementing democratization in all fields of Belgium’s political, social, economic, and cultural life" can "a socialist road be opened for Belgium that conforms to its fine traditions and realistic needs"—namely, a "democratic, multi-party, federalist, and self-managed socialist road." To this end, the CPB must form alliances with laborers, youth, women, grassroots democratic movements, and progressive figures in the scientific, technological, and cultural sectors, "realizing a broad alliance of progressive forces around the working class."

The CPB realizes that achieving socialist goals and changing society requires more than just reformist policies; it must integrate into social movements and be able to start from the daily problems of the working class, cooperating with other left-wing political and trade union forces to unite all those who aspire for change and create a more just, democratic, and unified socialist society without exploitation and alienation. The CPB points out that the Party's attitude toward trade unions must consider the development of the working class, which has lost its strongest strongholds in mining, steel, and metallurgy; this evolution completely ended the reformist illusions of "Walloon Federalism" and "anti-capitalist structural reform." It must also consider the large number of small companies that, by reducing worker numbers, weaken the effectiveness of trade union presence, making relations between workers increasingly complex and competition increasingly fierce, further undermining the role of joint committees. The role of trade unions in organizing worker solidarity conflicts with the intense individualism advocated by the right wing and its media. On the basis of self-criticism, the CPB has rethought the relationship between the Party and trade unions, stating that it must never damage relations with unions, as they remain crucial for organizing struggle and inter-sectoral solidarity to limit corporatist tendencies. Communists must understand the situation of trade union organizations and the entire proletariat; workers need strong unions. The CPB believes it should provide political guidance to unions when necessary and dedicate itself to worker unity. Given that unions have been weakened by internal reasons and external attacks, the CPB is considering the establishment of a "class-struggle worker movement" affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), provided it causes no damage to existing organizations. The CPB demands legal status for trade unions, requires union representation in all enterprises, strongly opposes judicial intervention in labor disputes, strongly condemns media harassment of unions and their activists, reaffirms class solidarity with trade union organizations, and advocates for unions to join the WFTU.

3. Regarding Federalism. Rejecting...

"Belgian-style federalism," opposing "confederalism," and advocating for the establishment of a socialist society. The Communist Party of Belgium (PCB) holds that federalism defines a political system in which several independent entities cede a portion of their sovereignty to a higher authority. However, Belgian-style federalism is an illusion; it leads Belgium toward separatism and toward a confederal system composed of a union of two independent states, Flanders and Wallonia. The PCB asserts that confederalism must be resolutely rejected, condemning the so-called linguistic border because of its potential to evolve into a political border. The primary result of this linguistic border is increased competition and growing fragmentation between regions. More importantly, it restricts the possibility of united struggle by workers in the North and South, and the resulting complex and multiplied regional institutions have greatly alienated the relationship between politics and the people. Therefore, the PCB advocates for making every effort to maintain unity between regions and communities. It maintains that economic and fiscal policy, social security, health, foreign trade, and foreign affairs—as well as public services such as education, transport, and national defense—should fall under the jurisdiction of the central government. It further advocates for the mandatory study of the two main national languages in schools and the use of bilingualism in federal service departments (railways, police, etc.).

4. Regarding Proletarian Internationalism and the International Communist Movement Marx pointed out: "United action, of the leading civilized countries at least, is one of the first conditions for the emancipation of the proletariat." Throughout the history of the PCB’s development, possessing an internationalist spirit has been a distinctive feature. The strategy of emphasizing alliances and cooperation can be described as its important means of survival. Since its founding, the PCB has had a tradition of alliances and cooperation. During the process of revolutionary struggle, it has also highly esteemed the political strategy of "aligning vertically and horizontally" ^[5] to obtain as much support as possible.

Since the 21st century, the PCB has maintained that the slogans "proletarian internationalism" and "workers of all countries, unite!" still possess great practical significance. Consequently, it proposes that the first priority for the people of the world and the international proletariat today is the establishment of a global alliance. It calls on the people of all countries to unite, actively participate in domestic and international peace movements, develop broad front organizations in their own countries, and carry out specific and practical mass movements against the United States, imperialism, and NATO. By building an anti-imperialist front, they aim to jointly resist US-led imperialist wars and overthrow the colonial system that brings instability, poverty, and human rights violations to the masses through political repression, economic plunder, and military coercion. The PCB believes it is working toward the establishment of an anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist front for socialism and peace.

III. New Trends in the Political Practice of the Communist Party of Belgium Since the 21st century, the PCB has made timely adjustments to its path of political practice in light of developments and changes in both internal and external party situations, pointing out the way forward for achieving the goal of socialism.

(1) Political Participation: Continuing to Adhere to the Peaceful Parliamentary Road and Expanding the Party's Political Influence Regarding the method of seizing power, the formulation of political strategy requires all political parties to clarify two common issues: first, what kind of road to take to achieve power. Political parties bear the social and political responsibility to thoroughly transform the state apparatus, but how to seize power is the key. Second, with whom to unite. Under the current political situation, no single Communist Party in a capitalist country has enough strength to govern alone. Therefore, should one fight a lonely battle or seek alliances? On these two issues, the PCB’s position has been "consistent from beginning to end."

Since its inception, the PCB has consistently attached importance to and actively participated in various electoral activities. In 2012, the party proposed candidates in Charleroi and Seraing through the electoral lists of left-wing parties, supporting municipal and provincial electoral alliances to win seats for local elected officials. In 2014, the PCB continued to implement this electoral strategy, participating in an electoral alliance composed of the Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB), the PCB, the Anti-Capitalist Left, and independents. With the support of the electoral alliance, the PTB was allowed to participate in elections for representatives at all levels, restoring the representation of the radical left in parliament after an absence of more than 20 years. The presence of candidates from the PCB, the Anti-Capitalist Left, and independents contributed to the PTB's success in the elections. In 2018, the PCB participated in municipal elections in Liège and Brussels by supporting the PTB candidate lists and nominated two candidates in the Soignies district, winning over 3,000 votes. Clearly, these results responded to the "variable geometry" strategy traditionally used at the municipal level. These different strategies and their impacts will need to be analyzed and discussed carefully in the future. The 36th National Congress of the PCB reaffirmed the unified policy for the party's participation in elections—namely, establishing a consistent political line across all levels of party organizations—and reaffirmed democratic centralism as the mode of operation for party organizations at all levels. In the federal, regional, and European elections of May 2019, the PCB won more than 10,000 votes in the southern part of the country. The 36th National Congress of the PCB decided to rebuild party branches in the north of the country, attempting once again to become a national party. The PCB believes the urgent priority is to link the struggle for peace with the struggle to defend workers, making it a major issue for the 2024 campaign. To this end, the PCB continues to cooperate in solidarity with the PTB to participate in parliamentary elections, putting forward campaign slogans such as "Achieve peace by ending so-called humanitarian wars, withdraw from and dissolve NATO," "Public services as non-negotiable social assets," and "Reject the criminalization of social struggles."

(2) The Mass Line: Actively Leading and Organizing the Workers' Movement and Expanding the Party's Social Influence The PCB has always regarded the organization and leadership of the workers' movement and trade union struggles as its important tasks. In recent years, the PCB has carried out a series of commemorative activities and strike movements. These movements possess clear tendencies and immediacy, and their themes are generally hot-button issues of close concern to the masses. The PCB attempts to use these movements to publicize its political ideas and positions, maintain close ties with the masses ^[6], and seek interests for the people. For example, on March 29, 2021, Belgian workers organized a national strike, demanding wage increases, fairer contracts, and rights and dignity for workers. Workers from various industries, including manufacturing, metallurgy, transport, education, and healthcare, joined the strike. Major unions such as the General Federation of Belgian Labour (FGTB) and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC) mobilized the workers. Progressive parties, including the PTB and the PCB, also expressed solidarity with the strike and participated in national mobilization activities.

(3) Inter-Party Relations: Emphasizing Alliances and Cooperation, Affirming the Principles of Proletarian Internationalism, Advocating for the Establishment of a Broad United Front, and Expanding the Party's International Influence First, the PCB is actively deepening its exchanges and ties with international conferences and organizations, such as the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) and the World Anti-Imperialist Platform (WAP). The IMCWP is an international exchange platform with communist parties and organizations as its core and Marxism as its common ideological basis. In addition to the annual formal meetings, extraordinary meetings are held irregularly. In December 2009, communist and workers' parties decided to launch an annual journal, International Communist Review, published in English and Spanish, and also decided to establish a website. As of 2024, more than 120 communist and workers' parties from 85 countries have participated in the IMCWP, which has held 23 sessions; the PCB sends representatives to the meeting every year. At its 36th National Congress, the PCB fully affirmed the positive role of the IMCWP in uniting the European left, criticizing capitalism, and promoting socialism. It expressed that it would continue to participate in the future, using this platform to connect with the people of the world, establish an international anti-imperialist front, support anti-imperialist struggles, and strive for peace and socialism. The World Anti-Imperialist Platform is an international organization that identifies as anti-imperialist. Its main founding members came from the "European Communist Initiative," which was disbanded due to ideological and political differences resulting from the Ukraine crisis. On October 14, 2022, the first international conference of the World Anti-Imperialist Platform was held in Paris. The PCB, together with 54 political parties—including the Communist Party of the USA, the Italian Communist Party, the Workers' Party of Ireland, the Lebanese Communist Party, and the Congolese Communist Party—jointly signed the Paris Declaration, marking the official establishment of the organization. In the two years since, the World Anti-Imperialist Platform has held multiple international conferences, all attended by the PCB. For instance, at the second Belgrade International Conference held on December 17, 2022, representatives from 29 signatories, political organizations, and embassies from 26 countries in Asia, Europe, and South America—including the PCB—attended the meeting. Under the severe situation of the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the imminent crisis on the Korean Peninsula, participants took "The Rising Tide of Global War" as their theme. They held discussions and signed the Belgrade Declaration on issues such as the aggressive nature of imperialism, the dangers of opportunism within the anti-imperialist camp, and the tasks of the world's anti-imperialist forces. The organization believes the most important theoretical task facing anti-imperialists is to correctly characterize the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the explosive war in East Asia. Without a correct assessment of the nature of the war, it is impossible to formulate correct response policies or lead the masses in the struggle to defeat imperialism locally or globally. Using these international platforms as a medium, the PCB continuously strengthens its ties with other communist parties and organizations, reinforces inter-party exchanges, and practices the spirit of internationalism.

Second, the PCB actively supports various types of anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist struggles, protesting acts that violate national sovereignty and the interests of the people. In today’s world, global crises are further intensifying. From Africa to the Middle East, and from East Asia to Eastern Europe, regional or local wars threaten geopolitical relations, and the principles of equality and justice are being undermined. The PCB pays close attention to the international situation, having issued numerous statements and speeches on the Ukraine crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the Syrian issue, and the Korean issue to express its position. It opposes the intervention of imperialist countries and organizations—led by the United States, NATO, and the EU—into the human rights and sovereignty of other nations and opposes imperialist and militarist acts of aggression. For example, on January 10, 2022, the PCB published a statement on Solidarity Network condemning the suppression of the workers' movement of the Kazakh people, supporting the struggle of the Kazakh people's movement, and demanding the legalization of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, the Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan, and the status of trade unions. On October 16, 2023, the PCB issued an announcement reaffirming its support for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It condemned the Israeli government's defiance of UN resolutions and its attempts to completely annex the West Bank and carry out illegal occupation and colonization of Palestine, stating that Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip possesses a genocidal character and threatens to further expand the conflict to the entire Middle East. The PCB emphasized that Palestine was recognized by 70.5% of UN member states in 2017 and that the intensification of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is inseparable from the support of the EU and the US for Israel—support that proves their contempt for international law and the Palestinian people.

IV. Conclusion Since entering the 21st century, the international community has been experiencing rare and multiple risks and challenges, and the world once again stands at a crossroads of history. For European communist parties facing similar strategic choices, the PCB’s exploration of theoretical and practical paths to socialism undoubtedly provides certain practical insights. On the whole, the PCB has attempted to seek socialist goals that meet the requirements of the times, to promote the development of the socialist movement through its own transformation, and to adhere to the path of parliamentary struggle, the mass line, and inter-party exchanges. To a certain extent, these efforts have improved the party's environment for survival, but the results have not been significant, and its development prospects are not optimistic. Whether it can grasp the opportunities of the times and strengthen its own building will be the key determining the future development of the Communist Party of Belgium.

(Author: Guo Taiying, Institute of Contemporary Socialism, Shandong University) Web Editor: Jin Qiu Source: Contemporary World and Socialism, Issue 4, 2024