The Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated its centenary on July 1, 2021.[1] The celebration took place in the famous Tiananmen Square where Chairman Mao Zedong declared the foundation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949.[2] Since its inception in Shanghai in 1921, the CPC grew to be one of the world’s most powerful political parties. The CPC has ruled over China since the founding of modern China in 1949. The party’s most notable achievement is transforming China from one of the world’s poorest countries to the second strongest economic power on the globe.
Under Mao’s command, the party held to its key policy of “Socialist China” but the years that followed, the Chinese approach underwent a transformation. Policies that China was pursuing were revisited and a reforms process was initiated that led to a successful model, which for the very first time led to strategic engagement with the US. CPC pushed for a hybrid economic system in which there was an amalgamation of socialist principles with core elements of capitalism. Adopting this hybrid model worked wonders for China. This kind of practical approach was initially introduced by the late Communist leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1970s who firmly supported the ideology of ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics. In recent times, the CPC led by President Xi Jinping is trying to transform China into a global force therefore attempting to create an indisputable reality of a “New China.”
