Sixth Plenum: There is reason to be proud in the face of the past, and to start bravely in the future

Dr. Michael Borchmann, Former Director-General of the Department of European and International Affairs in Hesse, Germany, Senior Advisor, China International Investment Promotion Center (Germany).

Translator: Lu Xiqian

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from November 8 to 11, 2021. The plenary session was attended by 197 members of the Central Committee and 151 alternate members of the Central Committee. The Communiqué of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the Communiqué) begins with such plain language. Such plenaries are of immeasurable value in China's political life. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the party's highest leading organ, re-elected every five years by the party's national congress, which mainly explains the situation on china's future core issues and policy direction. I note that the agenda of each Sixth Plenum is to discuss issues of principle and future development. The same is true this time, or it could be said: much more than that. This meeting was a very special and outstanding one.

First, the context of the timing of this meeting makes this clear. Following the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in July, the meeting was another decisive event for China this year. And this anniversary also marks a core of the Communiqué mentioned at the beginning: the history and achievements of the party. The successful road of China's socialist construction can be roughly divided into three stages. First of all, it was the Mao Zedong period, when the socialist revolution was being carried out and socialist construction was being promoted. Theoretically, this is the basis for the "sinicization of Marxism," which is what we today understand as "socialism with Chinese characteristics." The second stage was the beginning of the reform and opening up policy led by Deng Xiaoping, which was called "Deng Xiaoping Theory" in the "Communiqué" and explained as follows: "Emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, and make the historic policy decision of shifting the work center of the party and the state to economic construction and carrying out reform and opening up." As the third stage, the Communiqué praised General Secretary Xi Jinping as the main founder of the "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era". These ideas have shaped the further development of Marxism in contemporary China and the 21st century. They constitute the essence of Chinese culture and spirit in the new era, and they represent a new leap in the sinification of Marxism. One international China expert summed up these three phases as follows: Under Mao Zedong, China rose; under Deng Xiaoping, China became richer; and under Xi Jinping, China became and is becoming stronger. What impressed me most was the Chinese Communist Party's recognition of its own historical continuity. Even though there have been upheavals throughout this history, the party and the state have always come together to make the necessary changes to continue China's path to success.

Under Xi Jinping, China has taken unusual measures. The first is to adhere to the people-centered development ideology, especially to eliminate poverty and build a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. On this basis, the Sixth Plenum further shaped the starting signal of China's future, requiring more diligent efforts, courage and determination to move forward, and continue to struggle to achieve the second centenary goal and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The second centenary goal refers to the establishment of a "prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful socialist modern power" by the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2049. China is now on this path.