Sidelights of the Special Briefing on “Stories of CPC-Jiangxi’s Achievements in Practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”

Yuan Kun Bai Yameng

From Bureau of Public Information and Communication，?

International Department， CPC Central Committee

From Bureau of Public Information and Communication，?

International Department， CPC Central Committee

J? iangxi province is full of the fragrance of fruitful kumquats in late autumn. On November 21st， 2019， the Special Briefing on “Stories of the CPC-Jiangxis Achievements in Practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” was jointly hosted by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee （IDCPC） and the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee in the Ganjiang River Hall in the Qianhu State Guest House in Nanchang. It marks the 10th of a series of “Stories of the Communist Party of China” special briefings. The event was honored with the presence of around 350 political party leaders and representatives， coming from more than 60 countries and over 50 political parties.

Distinctive from the previous nine sessions that focused on specific themes on governance， this session centered on the theme of “Working for the Happiness of the People： Mission of Political Parties”， initiating the efforts to adopt the perspective of the fundamental missions of political parties. The briefing introduced to politicians of foreign parties the philosophy of the CPC governance， the great achievement that has been made since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China， the main principles of the fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and the practice conducted by local CPC committees to promote development， alleviate poverty and improve peoples livelihood.

Working for the Happiness of the People is the Unswerving Original Aspiration and Mission of the CPC

At 9： 30 a.m.， the delegates arrived early and visited the exhibition themed on “Working for Peoples Happiness： Mission of Political Parties”. The exhibition， in the form of pictures and items on display， provides a panorama showing the endeavors and concrete achievements wholeheartedly made by CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee to work for peoples happiness under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The delegates walked by the ceramic carpets， tasted the local tea， watched the folk artists carving and painting， and immersed themselves in a 3D world with VR glasses on， through which they gained a vivid and strong impression of the high-quality development in Jiangxi. In the exhibition， they also found answers to such questions as why the CPC “can” and why the socialism with Chinese characteristics is “good”.

At about 10：00 a.m.， when Chinese and foreign guests of honor entered the venue and took their seats， the special briefing officially began.

“How to work for peoples happiness has always been a crucial question on the mind of politicians at all times and in all countries. It stands as a test on political parties governance capacity and decides the rise or fall and success or failure of the development of various nations and even humanity.” Minister Song Tao of the IDCPC stated in his speech that working for the happiness of the people is the unswerving original aspiration and mission of the CPC. Since the 18th CPC National Congress， the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core has set peoples wish for a good life as its goal， adhered to the vision of making development people-centered and worked to make new historic achievements in the undertakings of the Party and the country.

Song Tao stressed that in todays world there are undergoing profound and complex changes， the destinies of countries are never before so intertwined. Political parties， as national policymakers， shoulder the weighty responsibility of boosting national development and working for peoples happiness as well as undertake the mission of promoting world peace and development. The CPC is willing to work together with political parties all around the world to explore the establishment of a new-type inter-party relation that seeks common ground while reserving differences， respects each other and learns from each other， to engage in more exchanges on state governance， facilitate pragmatic cooperation across the board and deliver more benefits to peoples of all countries， so as to contribute more to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Liu Qi， Secretary of the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee， shared with the delegates how Jiangxi Province has implemented the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The province has taken every means to develop the economy so that no one is left behind on the road towards comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society; made unremitting efforts to protect ecological environment so as to build a beautiful place for living that enjoys green mountains， blue waters， blue sky and white clouds; wholeheartedly improved peoples livelihood so as to effectively address peoples immediate concerns; and made concerted efforts to maintain stability so as to create a safe and harmonious social environment for the people.

Liu Qi suggested that the principles of the important speeches made by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection in Jiangxi are implemented and that they would keep in mind the original aspiration and the mission and speed up the construction of a prosperous， beautiful， joyful and modernized Jiangxi. While Liu Qi delivered his speech， slides were simultaneously played on the large screen behind him， displaying successful practices and scenes of a happy life.

Touching Stories Told

by the Grassroots

“Life now is even sweeter than the navel oranges！” Applause burst when Deng Daqing made these remarks. Deng is a physically-challenged yet determined CPC member. He helped villagers get rid of poverty and become better off by planting navel oranges. Foreign delegates applauded his sharing and expressed their desire to help Deng sell his Gannan navel oranges to more countries.

At the briefing， five grassroots narrators， including Deng Daqing， told their genuine personal experiences and shared their happiness. Mao Haofu， a teacher at the Jiangxi Executive Leadership Academy and a guide in the Jinggang Mountains， told the story of how he had taken up the baton from his father and grandfather to tell the stories of Jinggang Mountains revolution in both Chinese and English and carried forward the spirit. Feng Xuefang， who migrated to and settled in Jingdezhen told three pieces of stories of how she started up business and sought personal growth， showing how the millennium-old porcelain capital Jingdezhen open up for dialogue with the outside and glow with new brilliance in the new era. Li Yue， a keeper of migratory birds， has spared no effort and risked his own safety to create a beautiful and warm home for migratory birds and contributed to building the “Jiangxi model” of a beautiful China. Zhong Huaguo， a township river governor， cherished the simple desire to protect the beautiful rivers in his hometown， patiently carried out the mass work and improved the river and lake management and protection system， showing how the river governor system works in townships and demonstrating the remarkable outcomes of the modernization of Chinas eco-environment management system and management capacity.

In the subsequent dialogue session， the delegates commented precisely together that from the ordinary people in Jiangxi， they saw peoples better-off lives， more prosperous economy， greater harmony between people and nature， outstanding leadership of the CPC， and the superiority of the Chinese system. Kim Rithy， Vice President of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia， said during the dialogue session that he was deeply moved and inspired by the stories told by five grassroots party members. He said， “Sound social environment and policy arrangements provide ordinary people with access to riches and dreams through efforts.” He believed that to work for peoples happiness， we must focus on and respond to peoples needs and demands. Hossam Elkhouly， Secretary General of the Future of the Nation Party of Egypt， said that if any political party aspires for success， it must maintain close ties with the people. He strongly agrees with Chinese philosophy that “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. You should ask the people and see whether they have smiles on their faces to assess whether a policy is workable or not.

The dialogue session was live broadcast globally by the China Global Television Network. The simultaneous online and offline briefing presented an open， inclusive and confident CPC to the world.

Over 60 Political Party Representatives Praised the Chinese System

“For China to make such remarkable achievements， there has to be a strong political party leadership and correct policies and institutions as support. The CPC has made several major decisions at the just-concluded fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee， which precisely reflected the partys correct decision-making.” Anne Desiree Ouloto， Deputy Executive Director of the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace （RHDP） of C?te d'Ivoire， pointed out in her speech the “super weapon” that led China to achieve rapid development under the leadership of the CPC was Chinas state system and national governance system rooted in China and widely acclaimed by the people. The system， which has stood the test of practice， shows strong vitality and superiority， and is gradually improving. On the eve of the special briefing， the IDCPC also held a briefing on the principles of the fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Nanchang， which was attended by over 200 political party representatives from nearly 50 countries. Shen Qianfang， Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee and Director of the Policy Research Office， Han Zhen， Director of the Academic Committee of Beijing Normal University， and Su Changhe， Dean of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University briefed representatives of foreign political parties on the background， significance， overall objectives and key tasks of the fourth plenary session. This also marks the first time that a special briefing was held in combination with the briefing on the principles of a CPC plenary session.

After the special briefing， the foreign delegates went to Nanchang， Jiujiang， Jingdezhen， Fuzhou， Ruijin and other places in Jiangxi to make in-depth field visits in cities， counties and villages and gained firsthand personal experience of the practice of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the province. These delegates are from both developing and developed countries， both left-wing and right-wing parties and both ruling and opposition parties. Through the vivid stories taking place on the land of Jiangxi， they gained more insights into Chinas development and a deeper understanding of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese system.

Khamphanh Phommathath， Member of the Political Bureau， Member of the Secretariat， and Minister of the Publicity Department， Central Committee， Lao People's Revolutionary Party， said after the visit he deeply felt that Jiangxi is one of the provinces that have scored enormous achievements in Chinas poverty alleviation efforts. A series of governance concepts put forward by China not only serve as the cornerstone of these achievements， but also significantly contribute to the worlds peace and development and provide the world with the “Chinese solutions”. Helal Helal， Deputy General Secretary， Baath Arab Socialist Party of Syria， said that his party has been paying close attention to Chinas development model and policies. Instead of dogmatically copying the experience of other countries， China has embarked on a path of development with its own characteristics. The Baath Arab Socialist Party of Syria aspires to learn from the CPC and expects to further strengthen the mutual learning between the two parties in state governance， deepen friendly cooperation and promote common prosperity and development.

Since 2017， the IDCPC started to host special briefings on “Stories of the Communist Party of China — the Practice of CPC Local Committees”. The briefings aim to introduce to foreign politicians and political party representatives the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as well as the practice and outcomes of CPC local committees in implementing the major strategic arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core， and help the international community acquire a thorough understanding of new development and changes made by China under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.

Looking into the future， the special briefings will serve as a unique window for political parties around the world to learn about the Chinese Communist Party， provide a platform to enhance inter-party exchanges on state and global governance and bring more stories of Chinas development， the Communist Party of China and Chinese system to the world audience.