THE International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) hosted ‘The CPC and World Marxist Political Parties Forum’, on July 28, 2022. The general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Forum. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (PCV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee and President Miguel Diaz-Canel, sent congratulatory messages to the Forum. More than 300 representatives from over 100 Marxist, Left political parties and political organisations from more than 70 countries attended the Forum online.

In his message, Xi Jinping pointed out that Marxism is an open-ended and continually developing theory. “Only when it is adapted to each country's specific conditions can it take root in a country, and only when it is adapted to the times can it be full of vitality. Thanks to the arduous exploration and concerted efforts of Marxist political parties of all countries, Marxism in the 21st century has been constantly breaking new ground, making new strides, and revealing increasing and fresh vitality”.

Xi Jinping said that the CPC sticks to adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China's specific realities and Chinese culture and unswervingly forging ahead on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He stressed that today the world is passing through accelerating changes unseen in a century, and humanity again stands at a crossroads in history. “It is the common responsibility of Marxist political parties to continue adapting Marxism to national conditions and the times, so as to illuminate the road ahead for humanity with the light of truth. The CPC is ready to strengthen exchanges and dialogue with Marxist political parties in other countries, keep in mind respective national conditions, grasp the pulse of the times, and continue to enrich and develop Marxism. By doing so, we can enable Marxism to display greater power of truth in the process of jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind”.

First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee Miguel Diaz-Canel in his message stated: “Being Marxists for Cubans means an attitude of permanent learning from practice to integrate the development of the social sciences, to recover the historical processes and knowledge accumulated in society, to know their current circumstances and their options for the future”. He stated that the 8th Congress of the PCC had identified three main tasks that have become strategies for the Party's work, namely: the economic battle, unity and struggle for peace and ideological firmness. “Within the latter, a prominent place was reserved for ideological political work, teaching, research and promotion of Marxism and Leninism”. Reiterating their adherence to socialist path, Canel, said, “We are firmly convinced that socialism is the only path to development with social justice as a creative overcoming of capitalism, its unsustainable irrationality and the values ​​that guide it”. He concluded stating that the ‘spectre of Communism’ is once again haunting the entire world by spreading its flags of hope. ‘Imperialism is alarmed with the spread of such ideas and this explains its aggressiveness’.

CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is his message to the forum commended the CPC for organising such an event, considering it as an opportunity to pay tribute to Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin – great thinkers and eminent revolutionaries of international communist and workers’ movements. “The forum also highlights the great contributions and enduring values of Marxism-Leninism and serves as a platform for the delegates to share experience in applying Marxism-Leninism in each Party and country”. He further stated that in Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh’s Thought was formed as a result of the innovative application of Marxism-Leninism, lessons drawn from international communist and workers’ movements, the upholding and development of national traditional values and the absorption of the quintessence of human culture. “Over the past more than 90 years, Marxism-Leninism and the Ho Chi Minh Thought have been the ideological foundation and the lodestar for the CPV”, he said and stressed that “Marxism-Leninism will continue to be a torch that lights up the path for Vietnam’s revolution in the new era”.

MA Baby, member of the Polit Bureau and head of the international department of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) participated in the online forum. In his intervention, he stated that Marxism-Leninism is a profoundly creative science and it cannot be copied mechanically and applied blindly, ignoring time and spatial differences. It has to be studied carefully and applied creatively taking into consideration the ‘concrete conditions’. “As Indian communists, through our more than 100 years of practice, we learned that there is no one standard path of revolution. Our path of struggle for revolutionary transformation of society depends on the given reality of our individual countries. The character of the State, the nature of the ruling classes, their strengths and weaknesses and the unity of the exploited classes, including their revolutionary preparedness and that of the vanguard communist party, play an important role in determining the stage, character and strategy of our revolution. Marxist theory provides us the tools for such an analysis and also directs us in building the necessary organisational structure”.

Talking about the present international situation he stated that imperialism and ruling classes around the world are worried about the rising protests and popular discontent, challenging the economic hardships caused by the present exploitative system. Quoting the political resolution adopted in the recently concluded 23rd Congress of the CPI(M) he noted: “The US is alarmed by the growing Chinese global influence which it considers as threatening its global hegemony. The steady growth of China as an economic power and its effective combating of the pandemic and its reopening of its economy are being increasingly seen by US imperialism as a threat that challenges US global dominance”. Militarily arming Taiwan to foil the ‘One China policy’ and seeking unfettered access to the South China Sea are all part of imperialist efforts to contain and isolate China, he said.

He condemned the US moves to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the Asia-Pacific region by the formation of the QUAD as a military alliance and a new security partnership called AUKUS. He said that the CPI(M) is against all such military groupings that destabilise the region. Stating that India always stood for ‘One China’, he reiterated the Party’s support to this policy and opposed all the belligerent moves of US imperialism in this region. He concluded by stating that all these challenges posed by imperialism and authoritarianism can be met only by remaining true to the tenets of Marxism-Leninism and scientific socialism.

The participants exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern, and agreed to strengthen solidarity, share experience and enhance cooperation, contributing to global peace and human development.