Speech at a Ceremony Marking the Centenary 

                        of the Communist Party of China

1 Comrades and friends,

Though defining our Party’s founding mission is easy, ensuring that we stay true to this mission is not. By learning from history,we can understand why powers rise and  fall. Through the mirror of history we can find where we currently stand and gain foresight into the future. Looking back on the Party’s 100-year history, we can see why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future. This will ensure that we act with greater resolve and purpose in staying true to our founding mission and pursuing a better future on the new journey that lies before us.

2 As we put conscious effort into learning from history to create a bright future, we must bear the following in mind:

3 We must uphold the firm leadership of the Party. China’s success hinges on the Party. The more than 180-year-long modern history of the Chinese nation, the 100-year-long history of the Party, and the more than 70-year-long history of the Peoples Republic of China all provide ample evidence that without the Communist Party of China, there would be no new China and no national rejuvenation. The Party was chosen by history and the people. The leadership of the Party is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and constitutes the greatest strength of this system. It is the foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the country, and the crux upon which the  interests and wellbeing of all Chinese people depend.

4 On the journey ahead we must uphold the Party’s overall leadership and continue to enhance its leadership. We must be deeply conscious of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central leadership. We must stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, We must uphold the core position of the General Secretary on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership. Bearing in mind the country's most fundamental interests, we must enhance the Party's capacity to conduct sound, democratic, and law-based governance, and ensure that it fully exerts its core role in providing overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides.

5 We must unite and lead the Chinese people in working ceaselessly for a better life. This country is its people; the people are the country. As we have fought to establish and consolidate our leadership over the country, we have in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people's support. The Party has in the people its roots, its lifeblood, and its source of strength. The Party has always represented the fundamental interests of all Chinese people; it stands with them through thick and thin and shares a common fate with them. The Party has no special interests of its own—it has never represented any individual  interest group, power group, or privileged stratum. Any attempt to divide the Party from the Chinese people or to set the people against the Party is bound to fail. The more than 95 million Party members will not allow it. The more  than 1.4 billion Chinese people will not allow it.

6 On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history. Upholding the Party’s fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, we will stand firmly with the people, implement the Party's mass line, respect the peoples creativity, and practice a people-centered philosophy of development. We will develop whole-process peoples democracy, safeguard social fairness  and justice, and resolve the imbalances and inadequacies in development and the most pressing difficulties and problems that are of great concern  to the people. In doing so, we will make more substantive progress towards achieving well-rounded human development and common prosperity for all.

7 We must continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded; it is the very soul of our Party and the banner under which it strives. The Communist Party of China upholds the basic tenets of Marxism and the principle of seeking truth from facts. Based on China's realities, we have developed keen insights into the trends of the day, seized the initiative in history, and made painstaking explorations. We have thus been able to keep adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, and to guide the Chinese people in advancing our great social revolution.At the fundamental level, the capability of our Party and the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics are attributable to the fact that Marxism works.

8 On the journey ahead, we must continue to uphold Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and fully implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.We must continue to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and its fine traditional culture. We will use Marxism to observe, understand, and steer the trends of our times, and continue to develop the Marxism of contemporary China and in the 2lst century.

9 We must uphold  and  develop  socialism with  Chinese  characteristics.We must follow our own path—this is the bedrock that underpins all the theories and practices of our Party. More than that, it is the historical conclusion our Party has drawn from its struggles over the past century.Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a fundamental achievement of the Party and the people, forged through innumerable hardships and great sacrifices, and it is the right path for us to achieve national rejuvenation. As we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics and driven coordinated progress in material, political, cultural-ethical, social, and ecological terms, we have pioneered a new and uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and created a new model for human advancement.

10 On the journey ahead, we must adhere to the Party's basic theory, line, and policy, and implement the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged  Comprehensive Strategy. We must deepen reform and opening up across the board, ground our work in this new stage of development, fully and  faithfully apply the new development philosophy, and foster a new pattern of development. We must promote high-quality development and build up our country's strength in science and technology. We must ensure it is the people who run the country, continue to govern based on the rule of law, and uphold  the core socialist values. We must ensure and enhance public wellbeing in  the course of development, promote harmony between humanity and nature, and take well-coordinated steps towards making our people prosperous,our nation  strong, and our country beautiful.

11 "The Chinese nation has fostered a splendid civilization over more than 5000 years of history. The Party has also acquired a wealth of experience through endeavors over the past 100 years and during more than 70 years of governance At the same time, we are also eager to learn what lessons we can from he achievements of other cultures, and we welcome helpful suggestions and constructive criticism.We will not, however, accept sanctimonious preaching from those who feel they have the right to lecture us. The Party and the Chinese people will keep moving confidently forward in broad strides along the path that we have chosen for ourselves,and we will make sure the destiny of China’s development and progress remains firmly in our own hands.

12 We must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces A strong country must have a strong military, as only then can it guarantee the security of the nation. At the point that it was engaged in violent struggle, the Party came to recognize the irrefutable truth that it must command the gun and build a peoples military of  its   own. The  peoples military has made indelible achievements on behalf of the Party and the people. It is a strong pillar for safeguarding our socialist country and preserving national dignity, and it is a powerful force for protecting peace in our region and beyond.

13 On the journey ahead, we must fully implement the Party’s thinking on  strengthening the military in the new era as well as our military strategy for the new era, maintain the Party's absolute leadership over the peoples armed forces, and follow a Chinese path to military development. We will take comprehensive measures to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, to strengthen them through reform and technology and the training of competent personnel, and to run them in accordance with the law. We will elevate our peoples armed forces to world-class standards so that we are equipped with greater capabilities and more reliable means for safeguarding our national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

14 We must continue working to promote the building of a human community with a shared future.Peace, concord, and harmony are ideas the Chinese nation has pursued and carried forward for more than 5,000 years. The Chinese nation doe5 not carry aggressive or hegemonic traits in its genes.The Party cares about he future of humanity, and wishes to move  forward in tandem with all progressive forces around the world.China has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development,and preserve international order.

15 On the journey ahead, we will remain committed to promoting peace, development, cooperation,and mutual benefit, to an independent foreign policy of peace, and to the path of peaceful development.We will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community  with a shared future, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts, and use China's new achievements in  development to provide the world with new opportunities. The Party will  continue to work with all peace-loving countries and peoples to promote the shared human values of peace, development, fairness,justice, democracy, and freedom. We will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation, to open up rather than closing our doors, and to focus on mutual benefits  instead of zero-sum games. We will oppose hegemony and power politics,and strive to keep the wheels of history rolling towards bright horizons.

16 We Chinese are a people who uphold justice and are not intimidated by threats of force. As a nation, we have a strong sense of pride and confidence. We have never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the people of any other country, and we never will. By the same token, we will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us. Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a  collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.

17 We must carry out a great struggle with many new contemporary features. Having the courage to fight and the fortitude to win is what has made our Party invincible. Realizing our great dream will require  tenacity and persistence. Today, we are closer more confident, and more capable than ever before of making the goal of national rejuvenation a reality. But we must be prepared to work harder than ever to get there.

18 On the journey ahead, we must demonstrate stronger vigilance and always be prepared for potential danger, even in times of calm. We must adopt a holistic  approach to national security that balances development and security imperatives, and implement the national rejuvenation strategy within a wider context of the once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world. We need to acquire a full understanding of the new features and requirements arising from the change to the principal contradiction in Chinese society and the new issues and challenges stemming from a complicated international environment. We must be both brave and adept in carrying out our struggle, forging new paths and building new bridges wherever necessary to take us past all risks and challenges.

19 We must strengthen the great unity of the Chinese people. In the course of our struggles over the past century, the Party has always placed the united front in a position of importance. We have constantly consolidated and developed the broadest possible united front, united all the forces that can be united, mobilized all positive factors that can be mobilized, and pooled as much strength as possible for collective endeavors. The patriotic united front is an important means for the Party to unite all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, both at home and abroad, behind the goal of national rejuvenation.

20 On the journey ahead, we must ensure great unity and solidarity and balance commonality and diversity. We should strengthen theoretical and political guidance, build broad consensus, bring together the brightest minds, and expand common ground and the convergence of interests, so that all Chinese people, both at home and overseas, can focus their ingenuity and energy on the same goal and come together as a mighty force for realizing national rejuvenation.

21 We must continue to advance the great new project of Party building. A hallmark that distinguishes the Communist Party of China from other political parties is its courage in undertaking self-reform. An important reason why the  Party remains so vital and vibrant despite having undergone so many trials and tribulations is that it practices effective self-supervision and full and rigorous self-governance. It has thus been able to respond appropriately to the risks  and tests of different historical periods, to ensure that it always remains at the forefront of the times even as profound changes sweep the global landscape, and  to stand firm as the backbone of the nation throughout the process of meeting various risks and challenges at home and abroad.

22 On the journey ahead, we must keep firmly in mind the old adage that it takes a good blacksmith to make good steel. We must demonstrate greater political awareness of the fact that full and rigorous self-governance is a never-ending journey.With strengthening the Party politically as our overarching principle we must continue advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era.We must tighten the Party's organizational system, work hard to train high-caliber officials who have both moral integrity and professional competence. remain committed to improving Party conduct, upholding integrity and combating corruption, and root out any elements that would harm the Party’s advanced nature and purity and any viruses that would erode its health. We must ensure that the Party preserves its essence,color. and character, and see that it always serves as the strong leadership core in the course of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

23 Comrades and friends,

We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of“one country, two systems,”under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, and implement the legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security. While protecting China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, we will ensure social stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain lasting prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions.

24 Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China.It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt towards “Taiwan independence"”and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

25 Comrades and friends,

The future belongs to the young people, and our hopes also rest with them. A century ago, a group of young progressives held aloft the torch of Marxism and  searched assiduously in those dark years for ways to rejuvenate the Chinese nation. Since then, under the banner of the Communist Party of China, generation after generation of young Chinese have devoted their youth to the cause of the Party and the people, and remained in the vanguard of the drive to rejuvenate the nation.

 

26 In the new era, our young people should make it their mission to contribute to national rejuvenation and aspire to become more proud, confident, and assured in their identity as Chinese people so that they can live up to the promise of their youth and the expectations of our times, our Party, and our people.