Foreign relations of the CPC

The CPC has actively explored and developed foreign relations with the goal of "creating a favorable international environment for China's economic construction, reform and opening," and achieved remarkable progress.

In inter-party relations, the CPC has adhered to the four principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences. It has spared no effort in making friends extensively with political parties of all countries that vary in political attitude and ideology. Incomplete statistics show that the CPC has established contacts and exchanges with more than 300 political parties and organizations in over 130 countries and regions.

In Europe, many countries witnessed the alteration of ruling parties and the emergence of new political parties and organizations following the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The CPC has observed the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs and shown respect for these countries' choice of development path. It has contacted political parties of all countries in this region for exchange and cooperation in keeping with the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences. So far, it has established ties in multiple forms with different political parties and organizations in most countries in the region.

In Africa, based on the principle of not forgetting old friends, extensively making new friends and building up multiple contacts, the CPC has established relations in diverse forms with 50 ruling parties, parties participating in government administration and influential parties out of office in 36 countries.

In Asia, Japan witnessed a major change in the structure of political parties in 1993, with various parties sharing state power. The CPC has established and developed extensive relations with almost all parties in Japan.

The CPC has also developed relations with political parties in countries that have not established diplomatic relations with China. In Latin America, for instance, it has established contacts with more than 20 political parties in most of the 10-plus such countries and has made friends with many senior leaders of these countries' political parties, governments and parliaments.

While abiding by the purpose of inter-party relationships, the CPC has made unremitting efforts to promote friendly and cooperative state-to-state relations and safeguard national sovereignty and interests. In contacts with the ruling parties of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the CPC has done a lot of work in winning their understanding and support on issues involving China's sovereignty, such as the human rights, Taiwan and Tibetan issues. This has provided support for the country's struggles in the diplomatic realm. In the face of the "elastic diplomacy" pursued by the Taiwan authorities over the past years, the CPC has strengthened publicity work in foreign relations, winning the understanding and support of ruling parties in many countries.

Anti-Corruption theory and practice in the CPC's 80 years

During the 80 years since its founding, the CPC has been consistent in fighting staunchly against corruption within the Party. At its birth, the CPC declared that it did not seek any special interests of its own and all its activities and work are in the fundamental interests of the working class and the masses in general. Its advanced nature naturally destines the CPC to keep itself clean and honest and fight against corruption.

Before 1949, the CPC was long subject to siege and attack. Under these circumstances, any internal corruption would result in a crisis of survival. Therefore, while fighting dauntlessly against imperialists and Kuomintang reactionaries, the CPC always maintained sharp vigilance against internal corruption and laid a special stress on cleanness and honesty in Party building.

In 1926, when some corruptive elements were found in the Party, the CPC Central Committee promptly issued a Circular on Resolutely Purging Corruptive Elements, the earliest document of the CPC on fighting against corruption. Since the Zunyi Meeting in 1935 which determined the leading position of Mao Zedong in the CPC, the Party's anti-corruption efforts have been more conscious. Mao Zedong laid an important theoretical basis for the Party's endeavor to fight against corruption and promote clean and honest administration.

In 1945, Mao explicitly pointed out that the essential way to avoid the cycle of "taking power, corrupting and collapsing" was democracy and mass supervision over government. Through the guidance of the theories, lines and policies formulated under Mao's leadership, the CPC and the CPC-led army and governments of the revolutionary base areas developed an unprecedented clean and honest style. This formed a striking contrast to the corruption of the Kuomintang government and its officials, who took bribes, bent the law and extorted money from the people.

With clean hands and an upright image, the CPC won the whole-hearted support of the people throughout the country, thus amassing a mighty force to defeat the Japanese imperialists, overthrow the corrupt Chiang Kai-shek government and establish New China in which the people became masters of the country.

After the founding of New China in 1949, the CPC's ruling position and peaceful environment added to the possibility of the emergence of corruption and divorce from the masses and reality. Given this danger, the CPC Central Committee exhorted all Party members to work continuously to uphold the Party's style of modesty, prudence, and freedom from arrogance and impetuosity, and of plain living and hard work.

Only two years after the founding of the People's Republic, the CPC launched a large-scale nationwide campaign against the "three evils" (corruption, waste and bureaucracy) in 1951 and 1952. This played an important role in preventing the emergence of corruption at that time. As a result, the CPC, maintaining its clean and honest administration, furthered its relations with the people, thus successfully leading the country in tiding over the "three-year period of economic difficulties" (1959-62) and achieving victories in socialist transformation and construction.

The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978 ushered in a new historical period in China. The second generation of the CPC collective leadership with Deng Xiaoping at the core re-established the Party's ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts and formulated the basic line of "one center (making economic development the central task), and two basic points (adherence to the four cardinal principles, and reform and opening up)." Under such new circumstances, anti-corruption struggles also displayed new characteristics. Deng put forward a series of concepts and ideas that helped promote clean and honest administration and fight against corruption in the new era. Deng's theory in this regard correctly directed the Party's anti-corruption struggle in reform and opening up, and effectively ensured the sound development of reform, opening up and the modernization drive.

In the 1990s, with the deepening of economic restructuring, profound changes took place in the ownership structure and distribution mode. A structure of many interested parties and diversified distribution modes gradually took shape. In order to pursue maximum interests, all interested parties tried every means possible to obtain limited resources. This was likely to induce unfair competition and corruption. Moreover, the weak points and negative effects of the market economy itself would also infiltrate the people's ideology and interpersonal relations, thus resulting in the emergence of money worship, hedonism, egoism and corruptive practices like bartering power for money.

Given this situation, the third generation of the CPC collective leadership with Jiang Zemin at the core has taken the building of Party style, promotion of clean and honest administration and fighting against corruption as matters vital to the fate of the Party and State. Based on the theories of Mao and Deng, the new leadership has conducted theoretical innovation in light of practices under new circumstances. It has opened a new path in the fight against corruption by shaping a guiding ideology, basic principles and strategies, tasks and steps, leading systems and a working mechanism in this regard in the new historical period.

In 1993, the CPC Central Committee made policy decisions on the anti-corruption struggle, which offered timely solutions to major problems in the relevant work. Particularly since the 15th CPC National Congress in 1997, the CPC has conducted a thorough education in Party spirit, style and discipline, and the "Three Represents" theory, focusing mainly on the need to study, to be politically minded and to be honest and upright. The education has helped improve the ideological and political competence of Party officials at various levels.