By: Waheed Ogunjobi
Unarguably, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is one of the strongest and biggest political parties in the world history today . It is waxing stronger than ever, especially as it becomes a Centenarian by July this year. On the one hand, the party state lead by Xi Jinping has fared comparatively well in increasing Chinese citizen’s trust in their government. Pundits believed that what helped the leadership overcome challenges in recent decades was an unusual combination of political control and planning with economic flexibility and experimentation.
Perhaps, the achievements of the Communist Party of China must have dwarfed the age-long criticisms against the Communist ideology and proved book makers wrong. This is due to the sterling achievements the party has recorded over the years.
According to critics, the rule by communist parties usually leads to totalitarianism, political repression, and restrictions of human rights, poor economic performance and cultural and artistic censorship. Western criticism of communist rule has also been grounded in criticism of socialism by economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman who argued that the state ownership and planned economy characteristic of Soviet-style communist rule were responsible for economic stagnation and shortage in economies, providing few incentives for individuals to improve productivity and engage in entrepreneurship.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was established in Shanghai on July 23, 1921. The party at inception announced the fight against class distinctions, the overthrow of the bourgeoisie through a proletarian revolution and the collectivization of production. What followed were years of civil war against the ruling Kuomintang party, violent propaganda campaigns and internal party purges.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a great Marxist political party. It is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and the leading core of the Chinese people of all nationalities. Since its founding in 1921, the CPC has traveled a glorious path of struggle for the liberation of China and the happiness of the people, as well as the progressive cause of mankind.
Modern Chinese history well indicates that without the Communist Party, there would have been no New China. Neither would there be China's socialism. Only with the leadership of the Communist Party of China were the victory of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. Only with the leadership of the Party can the Chinese people have a brighter and more hopeful future.
In the course of its reign, the party has made a lot of giant strides, that have made it the envy of others in its class. One of the biggest achievement is its ability to unite the whole China and make China get rid of the invasion by foreigners. For instance, during the period of the oRepublic Of China the country was replete with miserable scenes of death, starvation, war, and separation. Thus, before the so-called New China was established, China was substantially split by those warlords and imperialists.
Before 1949, China was not a country which could claim that she could get her affairs in order without the influences of foreigners. The communist party made a lot of differences. The strong proofs are the obvious advancement and changes that are taking place every day in China; a complete industrial system; a strong defense system; an independent and efficient economic system.
There is no gainsaying the fact that achieving some of these ideals depend on a great country and great leadership. Thus, without a powerful government, none of these would have any chance to be established; without an independent country, none of these is practicable for Chinese people and the Communist Party has made all that happened.
One of the secrets behind the rise and rise of China as made possible by the Communist Party is its ability to lift the literacy rate among its people. It is on record that before the World War II , Chinese people in different regions all spoke different dialects and couldn't communicate with one other. After the communists came to power, they forced everyone to learn Mandarin in schools, and made it easier to learn by simplifying the characters and this goes a long way in achieving national unification and cohesion.
Apart from achieving political stability and national unification and cohesion, the Chinese economy has also grown geometrically , making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. As of 2019, China has the second-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $14.3 trillion, behind the United States' GDP of $21.4 trillion. According to economic analysts, if the economy were represented in purchasing power parity (PPP), China will edge out America as the largest economy with a purchasing power of $23.5 trillion.
The question is, how did China go from a poor society, devastated by World War II and its own civil war by the mid-20th century, to the number two economy today? The answer to this perhaps is not fat-fetched. After decades of economic stagnation and set-backs , China began to open itself to international trade and liberalize the economy when it established diplomatic and trade relations with the U.S. in 1979. As China's subsequent export growth fueled the growth of manufacturing and urbanization, China rose to be a major global economic power over the next four decades.
Another strong point for the Chinese Communist Party in terms of measuring stability is the country’s growing influence in other parts of the world as exemplified in lending to other nations of the world . Thus, over the past two decades, China has become a major global lender, with outstanding claims now exceeding more than 5% of global GDP.
Almost all of these lending are official, coming from the government and state-controlled entities. In total, the Chinese state and its subsidiaries have lent about $1.5 trillion in direct loans and trade credits to more than 150 countries around the globe. This has been accentuated through its Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chines government in the year 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organization.
The project has been described as the Chinese Marshall Plan, a state-backed campaign for global dominance , a massive marketing campaign for something that was already happening-Chinese investments around the world. This feat has no doubt turned China into the world’s largest official creditor — surpassing traditional, official lenders such as the World Bank, the IMF, or all OECD creditor governments combined.
Recent events and economic indicators are equally placing China in better stead in terms of the world economies. For instance, a latest projection has it that China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy a few years earlier than anticipated. For instance, the U.S. reported recently that its gross domestic product in 2020 contracted by 2.3% to $20.93 trillion in current-dollar terms, based on a preliminary government estimate . In contrast, China said its GDP expanded by 2.3% last year to 101.6 trillion yuan. That’s about $14.7 trillion, based on an average exchange rate of 6.9 yuan per U.S. dollar, according to Wind Information data.
A new economic projection has it that China will emerge the richest country in the world by the year 2030 with a projected wealth of $64.2 trillion dollars. A new UBS (UBS) survey finds 57% of global investors predict China will replace the US as the world's biggest superpower by 2030. Economists generally attribute much of China's rapid economic growth to two main factors: large-scale capital investment (financed by large domestic savings and foreign investment) and rapid productivity growth. China's strong productivity growth, spurred by the 1978 market-oriented reforms, is said to be the leading cause of China's unprecedented economic performance.
One major driver behind China's economic rise was its massive network of factories that churned out everything from toys to mobile phones for consumers all over the world. China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 helped it cement its status as the world's factory and largest trader.
Without mincing words however, some of the exponential growth in Chinese economies can be attributed to strong political leadership with the Chinese Communist Party as the focal point. For instance ,Chinese politicians are said to feel a greater responsibility to the nation than to themselves. Strong leadership from the head of state has been a major factor contributing to economic success.
According to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse Group, China surpassed the US in the wealth of the top ten percent of the world's population. China today is the world's largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods. It is also the world's fastest-growing consumer market and second-largest importer of goods.
And, to say such unprecedented achievements are products of a Communist movement is a fact that will make the promoters of democratic ideals in the world green with envy and unsettles them for a long time to come. Happy 100th anniversary to a party that is piloting the affairs of the fastest growing economy in the world.
Waheed Ogunjobi, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abeokuta the Ogun State Capital and can be reached on 08035004741 or waheedogunjobi@gmail.com
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