July 1 marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Scholars in China and abroad widely agree that the country’s two miraculous achievements—rapid economic development and long-term social stability—are inextricably linked to the CPC’s governance philosophy and leadership. To mark this important anniversary, CSST spoke with scholars from several countries, who offered positive assessments of the Party’s governance performance.

Injecting vitality into Party building

The recent formulation of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building has been described as a comprehensive theoretical framework characterized as a complete system—with rigorous internal logic, rich connotations, and profound depth. Luis Antonio Paulino, Brazilian director of the Confucius Institute at S?o Paulo State University in Brazil, said the formal articulation of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building signals that Party building has been elevated to a central priority of China’s national agenda in the new era. For any country, including China, merely ensuring the survival of a ruling party is far from enough—what matters is continually renewing its capacity for effective governance.

“While many factors are crucial for China to succeed in its endeavor to basically achieve socialist modernization and make the per capita GDP reaching the level of moderately developed countries by 2025—and to remain so in the future—the most important of all is the continued existence of an ever-stronger CPC leading the nation’s vital forces in pursuit of its goals, transforming the people’s aspirations into concrete directives and effective actions,” Paulino articulated.

Fred M’membe, president of the Socialist Party of Zambia, noted that a rigorous analysis of the CPC’s governance performance must begin from objective facts. In his view, the Party’s success rests on three key advantages: a strong and cohesive leadership core, a sustained spirit of self-reform, and its forward-looking approach to strategic planning.

“On the 105th anniversary of the CPC, it has become a truly torch-bearer not only for the Chinese people whose fortunes have been broadly enhanced but for the rest of the world for which competent and efficient governance of CPC has set an example for countries and regions of the world,” said Charles Onunaiju, director of the Centre for China Studies in Nigeria.

Continuous, long-term planning essential

The continuity and long-term orientation with which the CPC formulates and implements national policies have not only contributed to China’s rise, but also won broad international recognition. In Paulino’s view, this is precisely where the key to China’s success lies. Under the CPC’s leadership, the Chinese model has successfully resolved many difficult problems while advancing national development in a steady and composed manner.

José Medeiros da Silva, a professor at Zhejiang International Studies University and director of its Brazil Research Center, shed light on contemporary China’s strong capacity to connect long-term national objectives with concrete policies that produce real results. A vivid example, he noted, is the formulation and implementation of the country’s Five-Year Plans.

“In a country of continental dimensions and immense complexity, development requires not only responses to immediate demands but also the capacity to define priorities, mobilize resources, adapt to changing realities, and ensure continuity in public policy implementation,” da Silva said. In his opinion, continuity, long-term planning, adaptability, and implementation capacity are among the defining features of China’s governance experience.

Ignacio Villagrán, director of the Center for Argentina-China Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, explained that pragmatism has long been an important foundation of China’s development. “The principle of ‘finding the truth in facts’ has been implemented to signal the need to concentrate on a scientific approach to identifying social and economic problems, studying possible solutions, attempting to solve them by small scale trial and error, correct and then expand the policy that is best suited to the conditions of each locality.”

“This approach has enabled many Chinese villages and townships to transform their economies during the reform period, and many Chinese companies to adapt to the demands of world markets during the opening up policies, welcoming foreign investment but learning about new technologies in the process,” Villagrán added.

M’membe likewise expressed admiration for China’s extraordinary perseverance in consistently advancing its Five-Year Plans, describing such persistence as rare in the world.

Upholding people-centered principle

Over the past 105 years, the CPC has maintained a clear and conscious commitment to self-reform, constantly correcting, improving, and purifying itself in order to preserve its nature, character, and political integrity. M’membe believes that the Party’s cohesion is rooted in this spirit of self-reform. The high level of public trust the CPC enjoys, he said, has been earned through strict discipline and rigorous self-governance.

Onunaiju pointed out that the CPC’s successful experience shows that intra-Party governance can be both a living, dynamic practice and a social repository of historical memory. He further emphasized that its core value lies in self-reform, which in turn drives broader social renewal, and that the CPC’s development demonstrates that a party long committed to national liberation and revolutionary struggle must continuously pursue internal reform in order to strengthen its governing capacity and efficiency.

In 2021, as the CPC marked its centenary, China achieved a comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty—one of the most remarkable accomplishments in the history of human modernization. To Paulino, this feat underscores that the CPC has always placed the interests of the people first.

M’membe emphasized that, for the CPC, the people are its foundation. The Party’s commitment to public well-being, he said, is not merely rhetorical. The fact that almost 800 million rural Chinese residents have been lifted out of poverty over the past four decades is an achievement that commands deep respect across Africa, and the CPC’s governance experience in China’s modernization offers a valuable reference for the continent.

“In the last few decades, China has managed to advance in the process of wealth production through the development of advanced productive forces but has also concentrated in improving the living conditions of all people, so that no one is left behind,” Villagrán observed. “The process that led to the end of extreme poverty in China was historically significant, not just for China, but for the entire world.”

Da Silva pointed to the long-standing Chinese historical tradition in which good governance and national stewardship have always occupied a central place in the country’s political and cultural life. “In the contemporary era, under the leadership of the CPC, this concern has been further strengthened by the continuous pursuit of improving the people’s living standards,” he added.