Things To Come: Xi Jinping To World Communist Summit: 'Turn Planet Earth Into A Harmonious Family'

Xi Jinping to World Communist Summit: 'Turn Planet Earth into a Harmonious Family'

Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed representatives of hundreds of the world’s political parties at a Beijing summit Friday in which he called for China’s Communist Party (CPC), the world’s largest political party, to lead a “community of common destiny” into the future.

Among the most important vehicles for solidifying this global leadership, Xi argued, was the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project, which consists of China’s  building travel and trade infrastructure that would grant it complete control over a trade route spanning from Beijing to western Europe. On sea, the Maritime Silk Road (the other half of the OBOR, the first being the Silk Road Economic Belt) would allow China to control most of the South China Sea and trade routes that reach Africa.

The “Dialogue with World Political Parties High Level Meeting” began on Thursday and will conclude Sunday, according to China’s state-run Global Times, and feature representatives from communist organizations in “Asia, Africa and Latin America, along with delegates from the Conservative Party of the UK, Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and The Republicans of France.” Overall, the Times estimates “more than 600 leaders and representatives from about 300 political parties and organizations from more than 120 countries” are in attendance.

Among the Latin American delegates is the most powerful Marxist group in the regime, the Communist Party of Cuba, which sent several representatives to the event, according to the state propaganda outlet Granma.

The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the CPC, declared the event “the first high-level dialogue between the CPC and the world’s parties.” It is, the publication continued, a necessary step in the CPC assuming its position as the world’s leading Marxist political institution.

“As the largest party in the world with 89 million members and having to govern a big country with a population of 1.3 billion, every step the CPC takes and every journey it embarks on is a model for other political parties to follow closely and study carefully,” the People’s Daily stated. 

“The dialogue will open a window for the CPC’s foreign counterparts to deeply understand the spirit of the Party’s 19th National Congress and the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era proposed by President Xi.”

Xi himself reflected this claim to global leadership in his address to the dialogue. Another state media outlet, Xinhua, reported that Xi used his speech to the group to call for “a community with a shared future for mankind,” led by China.

“The Belt and Road Initiative is the practice of the concept, Xi said, adding the Belt and Road has become a huge cooperation platform for countries concerned to realize their common development,” Xinhua reported. “In his speech, Xi said building a community with a shared future for mankind is in essence to connect the prospects and destinies of every nation and country closely together, share weal and woe, and turn planet Earth into a harmonious family.”

In addition to listening to Xi’s remarks, the summit will force attendees into panels such as “Jointly Pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative: The Role of Political Parties,” according to the Global Times.