"We believe that if a country wishes to live in a peaceful, stable and better world, it should regard development as a top priority, and supreme goal, just as proposed in the UN Charter". Those were the words of Samdech Hun Sen, the President of the Cambodian People's Party the and Prime Minister of Cambodia, at the first plenary session of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing on December 1. His remarks echoed the words of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, in a lecture delivered at the opening ceremony of the event, which called on the CPC and political parties worldwide to contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a better world.

In the past few days, expressions such as "a better world" and "a community with a shared future for mankind" have become stock phrases in the dialogue between representatives from various countries, and although political parties around the world inevitably hold differing political positions and notions of governance, their delegates have exhibited a clear understanding of the common interests of mankind. The CPC attests that through the principle of first "attending to one's own domestic issues", it is inevitable that a better world, one in which all countries can build and share a common future will naturally follow. This proposal has been met by widespread commendation by the attendant delegates.

Zutingta Palinzkas, Chairperson of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania told reporters that, one of the important purposes they here is to study the new ideas and achievements announced after the CPC's 19th National Congress, and learn about the international order China proposed.

President Xi has provided the world with a new way of cooperation, not only among governments, but also among political parties in various countries, and his thinking gives us a better understanding of what is happening in China, where China is going, and what impact it will have on the world, said Christina Viena, Vice-Chairperson of the French Socialist Party.

Outside the venue, a booth had been set up by the organizers, dedicated to multilingual versions of the popular book, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume II). It was visited by almost every delegate, with many taking a number of books away with them. With the book, they believe that can learn just how China has achieved its many miracles of development in recent decades. Aware that, like China, becoming rich and strong is an integral component of a common future for humanity. The meeting was a window into the new, reshuffled era of international cooperation, and the delegates of the world's political parties were brought to China by a common cause: a mutual desire to find ways to create a better world.

Copyedited by Laurence Coulton