CPC sets example to other political parties in world: Belarusian party chief Aleksei Sokol

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has set an example to other political parties in the world in breaking institutional barriers that restrict the introduction, cultivation, and use of talents, said Aleksei Sokol, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, in a recent interview with People’s Daily.

A bullet train passes by the fields dotted with blossoming plants in Luoxiang Township of Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

The CPC emphasizes that officials and talents should be appointed and selected on the basis of both integrity and ability, with priority given to integrity, and based on merit regardless of background, Sokol explained.

Speaking highly of the CPC’s organizational line building, Sokol said the CPC attaches great importance to improving governance capacity and achieving substantial results in practice.

During its 100-year journey, the CPC has grown into a major political party with more than 91 million members, an important reason for which is that the party always puts the interests of the people first, he said.

As a political party that has a certain influence on the National Assembly of Belarus and the Belarusian people, the Communist Party of Belarus has always maintained sound inter-party exchanges with the CPC.

In 2017, Sokol took part in the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting hosted by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing. The experience left a deep impression on him.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, expounded on the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind at the meeting, and voiced the CPC’s resolve to develop a new model of party-to-party relations and make the international political and economic order fairer and more equitable together with political parties of various countries, Sokol recalled.

“I think political parties of various countries can make a difference in advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” he said.

“We may have different political views, but we had good talks with each other about cooperation on the platform that gathered political parties and ideas,” said Sokol, who considers the meeting of great significance.

In March 2018, Sokol visited China as a member of the Belarus-China inter-parliamentary friendship group. He was amazed to find that many high-rises and commercial buildings above the ground and cars of latest models run in the rural areas of north China’s Hebei province, where only ranch houses and open ground were seen not long ago.

“China has a huge number of rural residents. The great changes in this place have proven that China has been trying to realize common prosperity,” Sokol said, who believes the idea of realizing common prosperity fully demonstrates the strength of socialist system, represents the shared aspiration of the people, and is one of the goals of the CPC.

When talking about the experience and lessons learned in the development of socialism, the party chief said that all political parties and countries encounter various problems in reform and development, and improper handling of these problems would lead to crises.

China has created a miracle of high-speed economic development and a miracle of long-term social stability, pointed out Sokol, adding that an important reason for the achievements is that the CPC constantly develops the connotations of Marxism in innovative ways and keeps its advanced nature while accurately grasping the essence of Marxism.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the result of thoroughly integrating Marxism into the reality of China, Sokol noted.

As an economist, Sokol pays close attention to how China develops its socialist market economy. “China adheres to an economic system which retains a dominant position for the public sector and a leading role for state-owned economy and at the same time encourages and supports the development of non-public sector,” he said.

During his visits to China, he learned that CPC organizations not only play leading roles in state-owned enterprises in China, but are increasingly more important in many private enterprises in the country, according to Sokol.

Sokol expressed his deep admiration for China’s successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s fast recovery in economic and social order.

“Xi has stressed many times that the original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. We have seen that the CPC has been more determined to fulfill its aspiration and mission when faced with challenges of the pandemic,” Sokol noted.

At the end of the interview, the party leader sent his heartfelt congratulations to the CPC on its 100th anniversary, and said that he believes the CPC will constantly secure new victories.