Observer: Socialism with Chinese characteristics has opened up freedom of choice for the people
By Heinz Diterich
People's Daily app
1634798743000

The recognition of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China in the UN, in 1971, and the corresponding seat in the Security Council, were an early indicator of the tremendous changes the global governance system was going to experience. At that time I was finishing my PhD in Social and Economic Sciences at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt (then-West Germany). I deeply believed that PRC’s admittance to the UN would correct the historic injustice and open doors to the future. It was the result of a change in global power balance, which foreshadowed today’s development of a global multilateral governing system.

Mexico, since its early national history, has been invaded many times by foreign powers, basically from Europe and the US. Thus, when the Mexican Revolution (1910-17) ended in the triumph of progressive bourgeois forces, the essence of its foreign policy has always centered on the principle of national sovereignty and no-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. In 1930, this foreign policy was formalized in the progressive Estrada Doctrine, which has been practiced ever since. Mexico’s disobedience of Washington and opposition to the Organization of American States’ expulsion of Cuba from the Pan-American body and the following economic sanctions in 1962 are a testimony to that policy.

China, which actively promotes building a community with a shared future for the mankind in the UN, is a socialist state governed by a people’s democratic dictatorship. It not only has the power, but also the political philosophy and political will to represent most people’s interests. Its role is unique. China is doing what is possible within its global, regional and national capabilities, to build that community and make greater contributions to the lasting peace and common prosperity of the world. President Xi Jinping’s speech to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a good example of this endeavor to strengthen the dynamics towards a more equal and just international environment for all people.

The UN's 2030 sustainable development agenda is only possible through the combination of three factors. First, advanced science and technology to get rid of destructive production, distribution and consumption systems; and second, the political will and the efficacy of a modern state to implement the program and third, an educated public which cooperates in the coming task to reengineer the inherited industrial civilization and modify it towards the future digital civilization. China is at the forefront of all these three missions today, as is evidenced, for example, by its success against COVID-19, in renewable energies and the eradication of poverty.

China has made three outstanding contributions to mankind since the outbreak of the pandemic: the first and the only country with an efficient public health protocol against the virus; the reactivation of its national and world economy, and the concrete support with health materials, vaccines, expertise and financial support to dozens of countries around the world. And for 2021/22, the GDP growth of China is expected to be between 6 and 8 percent. It is a real successful story on the global level. And when we compare China’s socialist governance system to that of some capitalist democracies, the former is striking.

Humanity has experienced three major technological revolutions: agricultural, industrial and digital. During the industrial revolution, the species could choose between capitalist and socialist development. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the global village turned capitalist. “The end of history”, as political scientist Francis Fukuyama said, there was no alternative to the capitalist market and liberal democracy.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics opened up again the freedom of choice for the people. Now they can compare, for example, the efficacy of China’s socialist governance with the efficacy of the capitalist democracies in the fight against COVID-19, poverty and racism, and judge for themselves which system is better. Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era has brought back the freedom of choice for peoples and states. That is the mission, which history has provided for China.

The author is a professor at the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico and the founder of ‘the Socialism of the 21st century’ theory. The opinions expressed in this article only reflect those of the author, not necessarily those of the People’s Daily.