A New Stage of Party Building: The CPC at 105 Years
While the Communist Party of China (CPC) has always focused on the need for self-renewal, there are certain periods that are immensely important and creative. In the early 1940s, we saw the 整风运动 zhengfeng yundong, the recitification movement to correct work style and thinking, which culminated in the identification of Mao Zedong Thought (毛泽东思想). This may be defined as the integration the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete realities, or what is now known as the “first integration” (第一个结合).
Since the 18th Congress of the CPC in late 2012, we have seen 14 years of what is now called 自我革命 ziwo geming, which literally means “self-revolution” but is probably better translated as “self-reform.” From my perspective, this is the new way of speaking about rectification and reform. From the grassroots to the highest levels, the CPC has undergone a thorough process of rectification, reform, and self-renewal, which has culminated this year – the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Party – in major theoretical developments. These developments are comprehensive, including Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Thought of culture, governance, political economy, and – pertinent here – Party building. Indeed, the first two volumes on the Thought on Party Building – gathering material from twenty years or more – were published this year.
To reiterate: periods of intense rectification and reform, or self-reform, have shown to be immensely productive in terms of theory arising from practice. This is particularly the case with the last 14 years leading up to the 105th anniversary of the CPC.
By way of my own small contribution, a spate of interviews and panels over the last two weeks have taken place. These include the West China Broadcasting Centre, CGTN, and China News Service. What follows is a selection from these interviews and panels.
My personal favourite is an interview with Gan Tian, an excellent young journalist whom I have known for some time now from China New Service (中国新闻社). The links to the Chinese version may be found here and to the English translation here.
A close next is a panel with Harvey Dzodin on Liu Xin’s leading show The Point (CGTN). We tackled for an international audience the meaning and reality of communism and what a Communist Party stands for. And yes, since WordPress is a Wesern outfit, the video here is from the CGTN youtube channel.
Finally, a panel from CGTN’s The Hub, hosted by Wang Guan.
An article on what can be learned from Party building in the CPC
Details are as follows: 2026 “A Time of Qualitative Change: The Importance of the Model of China’s New Political Party System.” Australian Marxist Review 81: 6-9. Download here.
Translated and revised version of an article on the Chinese Reception of “Western Marxism”
2026 《西方马克思主义研究在中国：一个国外学者的视角》《当代中国马克思主义研究》2026年第2期，张家玮 译. “Research on Western Marxism in China: The Perspective of an International Scholar,” Contemporary Chinese Marxist Research 2026 (2). Translator, Zhang Jiawei. Published Chinese version here.
What can the “West” learn from China’s “Two Integrations”?
The details are as follows: 2025 《推陈出新：论“两个结合”对西方的启示》(Bring Forth the New Through the Old: What the West can Learn from China’s “Two Integrations”)《世界汉学》(World Sinology) 18 (2025): 1-11. Chinese version here. English version here.
Marxist Philosophy in China: From the Reform and Opening-Up to the New Era – final synopsis.
The book manuscript is now complete: another massive project dealing with Marxist philosophy in China as an academic discipline from 1978 until today. Not only is Marxist philosophy the main form of philosophy in China, but it has also recovered its role as the vanguard of all scholarly disciplines. Practice-based and problem-oriented, this form of philosophy inherits and has contributed significant chapters to the mainstream of Marxist philosophy. Along with Nick Knight’s earlier work (2005) dealing with the initial period from 1923 to the 1950s, my book completes the first English-language history of Marxist philosophy in China. You may read the final synopsis below or download here.
English version here.
Full interview with Liu Xin on CGTN’s “The Point” now available on youtube: “All Things Chinese: Exploring China Through a Western Scholar’s Eyes”
For those who watch youtube, CGTN has posted the exclusive interview with Liu Xin on CGTN’s “The Point.” The interview took place in the academy at Mount Wuyi, established about 800 years ago by Zhu Xi, a scholar whose thought (Neo-Confucianism) came to have deep influence in China and much of Eastern Asia.
Full details: 2024 ‘All Things Chinese: Exploring China Through a Western Scholar’s Eyes’. CGTN “The Point,” Exclusive interview with Liu Xin, 25 March 2024. https://www.cgtn.com/tv/replay?id=BbJGBEA. Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5rfFG4Wvas. The lead poster captures a moment in the interview when a butterfly landed on my left shoulder and then right shoulder. Obviously, it too was interested in the interview.
CGTN Interview: The Superiority of China’s Socialist Democracy
A recently completed interview with CGTN on China’s socialist democracy has now been made available. Depending on where you are in the world, you may find it on CGTN’s channel: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-04-04/Australian-scholar-on-China-s-Socialist-Democracy-1iJksziYZxK/index.html. If you must, you can also watch it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6tUEaWEeoU.
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Concise Guide
In light of a series of educational events concerning socialism with Chinese characteristics, I have uploaded a corrected and updated version of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Concise Guide.” This is a 25,000 word summary of the book on socialism with Chinese characteristics, but it also includes the results more recent research. It is available on both the “Chinese Marxism” and “Publications” page, and you can also download here.
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics – A Guide for Foreigners
2021. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners. Singapore: Springer. The full book in e-format, listed in chapter sequence, may be found here and here. A detailed synopsis of each chapter of the book may be downloaded here.
Roland Theodore Boer 薄国强 