Why has the CPC remained vibrant after 105 years

Since its founding 105 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has kept standing at the forefront of China’s transformation, leading the country through construction to become one of the world’s foremost economic powers. Now with more than 101 million members, the CPC is steering the country on a new journey toward modernization by building on decades of development. What has enabled the CPC to remain vibrant and resilient for more than a century?

How has it mobilized the wisdom and strength of the Chinese people to achieve such remarkable progress? And what does its governance experience reveal about effective leadership in a rapidly changing world? The CPC, since its founding, has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its mission.

This commitment has remained at the heart of its governance philosophy. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, has said, “The aspirations of the people to live a better life must always be the focus of our efforts.” He also urged all party members to bear in mind that “the country is the people and the people are the country.” Poverty alleviation has long been a priority for the Party. The hard-won achievements in this endeavor have brought real changes to numerous people struggling with poverty.

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Perched at an altitude of 1,600 meters in the mountains of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the clifftop village of Atulie’er gained nationwide attention for its rugged location. Until a decade ago, villagers had to climb zigzag rattan ladders clinging to steep cliffs to reach classrooms, markets and medical facilities. As a nationwide targeted poverty alleviation campaign progressed, a steel ladder with handrails replaced the rattan ladders in 2016, significantly improving villagers’ daily lives.

Many families were later relocated to apartment complexes in a nearby county. Since then, the village has developed tourism and cultivated agricultural specialties as new sources of income. The transformation of Atulie’er is emblematic of China’s drive to shake off extreme poverty.

After an eight-year relentless campaign, the country lifted all of its 98.99 million impoverished rural residents out of poverty by the end of 2020, eradicating absolute poverty that had long plagued the nation. While poverty alleviation stands as a major achievement, it is part of a wider effort to improve people’s livelihoods. Over the years, China has built the largest education, social security, and healthcare systems in the world.

It has also made historic progress in ecological conservation and environmental protection. “While all countries advocate helping their people, in China, one can trace the people-centered philosophy directly to specific policy initiatives,” said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation. Dennis Munene Mwaniki, executive director of the China-Africa Center at Kenya’s Africa Policy Institute, said that China’s governance focuses on designing and implementing policies that are people-centric in nature to ensure everyone can benefit from development.

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