On April 26, 2021, the project “CPC History Lectures” was launched by the CPC Committee of the China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector (CICCPS) in collaboration with ten national civil society organizations in China. Professor YU Hongjun, former Vice Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a China Forum Expert, was the inaugural speaker of the lecture series, addressing a 150-strong audience on “The Evolution of the Landscape of World Political Parties and Foreign Relations of the Communist Party of China.” Mr. WANG Yanguo, Secretary of the CPC Committee of CICCPS, presided over the event.

Professor Yu led a systemic review of the history and achievements of the CPC’s international engagements in key periods since its founding, elucidating the Party’s diplomatic transformation from an “ideological-profiling” approach to one seeking all-round, multi-domain foreign relations. After the 19th CPC National Congress, the Party held a high-level dialogue with world political parties, the first of its kind in the history of any political parties. At present, the CPC’s diplomatic outreach has grown far beyond traditional norms.

Further on, Professor Yu stressed that the CPC’s unremitting efforts to expand and deepen its external relations are not only vital for it to better understand and reach out to the wider world and learn from global civilizations, but also an essential element of China’s distinctive and diversified diplomacy. The CPC stands ready to strengthen its dialogues and strategic trust with other political parties to together build a better world and a community with a shared future for humankind.