Chinese Communist Party Talks International Relations

It's 90 years since the Communist Party of China or CPC came into being. Over this time it's established contacts with political parties across the world. CRI talks to one official who's responsible for making such connections. He says communicating with foreign political organisations is an essential part of China's diplomacy.

Dominic Swire reports.

The International Department of the Central Committee of CPC is mainly responsible for reaching out to political parties from other countries. The aim is to strengthen China's international relations. Ma Hui is Deputy Director for the bureau dealing with regions including North America, Scandinavia, the UK. He says the two key principles in this line are respect and an open mind.

"I think the fundamental thing is that we need to show a degree of respect. We must admit the diversity of the world. We must admit there are different models, different political systems."

One of the main tasks for this department is to develop contacts with foreign political parties. But Ma Hui admits this is not always plain sailing.

"It's right to say a certain degree of misunderstanding exists. But China's understanding of foreign countries is not always perfect either. It's natural that countries and people differ. Hence the significance of our work."

While it's a challenge to communicate with so many parties representing wide ranging views, Ma Hui says the Communist Party of China aims to transcend political differences.

"We know political parties have ideology because that's political. Different parties have different beliefs. But we think in a globalised world, if we want to solve global problems we need global solutions. No single ideology can provide the best solution to the problems we're faced with."

Yet for all the talking, Ma Hui says international politics is often oversimplified.

"The example I always give to foreign friends is, 'is there such a thing as a 'western political system'?' No. The American system is different from the British system and the British system is different from the French system. So there's no such thing as a 'Western political system'. "

Through high-level visits, forums, and other exchanges, the CPC has established contacts with more than 400 political parties and organizations in over 140 countries. Ma Hui's department is currently organizing a forum for several thousand young political leaders from the UK and China to come together and talk about foreign relations. Through projects like this, he hopes China and its foreign partners can further strengthen their understanding of each other.

For CRI, I'm Dominic Swire.