Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Yang Yang says the Communist Party of China (CPC) is ready to maintain historic close exchanges with the PPP and to have this translated into tangible bilateral co-operation.
The Ambassador was speaking at a July 8th event at Red House in Kingston to mark the 105th anniversary of the CPC and Guyana’s 60th anniversary of independence.
She traced the progress made by China over the period and the history of relations between the two parties and countries.
“Looking ahead, the CPC is ready to maintain close exchanges with the PPP. We are ready to deepen exchanges and mutual learning on state governance, poverty reduction and development, youth training, community-level work, ethnic unity, and party building.
“China is ready to work with Guyana to translate the common ground in the two parties’ governance philosophies into tangible results in bilateral cooperation”, the ambassador said, according to the text of her address.
She added: “We will further deepen cooperation in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health, education, the digital economy, green development, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to better benefit our two peoples”.
The Ambassador said that as important members of the Global South, the two sides can also strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs.
“Together, we can uphold the common interests of developing countries and promote a more just and equitable international order”, she stated.
The ambassador addressed discipline in the party, its stance against corruption and related issues.
She said that the original aspiration and mission of the CPC is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, adding that the CPC always puts the people in the highest place.
“This year, on July 1, eight people out of China’s more than 100 million Party members received the July 1 Medal, the highest honor. These recipients are not superheroes. They are ordinary CPC members who have served the people for decades in ordinary posts. Some have served local communities for 30 years. Some have delivered medical care to herders. Some have helped farmers increase their incomes. They did not just speak about the people. They gave their lives to the people”, the ambassador asserted.
She contended that a party must bolster itself and maintain vitality.
“The CPC has more than 100 million members and 5.25 million primary-level Party organizations. For a party of such size to stay united and effective, it must strengthen itself. The CPC uses Marxism to arm the whole Party through intra-Party education and other means. This ensures that the cause of the Party moves in the right direction.
“The CPC fights corruption with a zero-tolerance attitude. The CPC stresses that Party discipline is no small matter. Party members and officials must not only set an example in obeying national laws. They must also strictly follow Party discipline”, the ambassador said.
She added that she herself was not allowed to engage in business activities or use her position as ambassador to seek favours or assistance for her relatives, or accept gifts from individuals or entities under her supervision or with whom she has official dealings.
She added that a party must uphold independence, follow the path of peaceful development and that no single model fits all.
“The CPC has proceeded from China’s own national conditions and followed the trend of era. It has successfully initiated the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Chinese modernization has expanded the pathways for developing countries to achieve modernization.
“There is an old Chinese saying: `Only the wearer knows if the shoes fit.’ China respects the right of all countries to choose their own development paths based on their own national conditions and the will of their people. We believe that there is no single model of development that fits all countries. Differences should not be judged through an ideological lens, and developing countries should not be lectured to or interfered with from a position of superiority”, the Chinese Ambassador asserted.
China, she said, is ready to work with all countries, especially countries of the Global South, to achieve common development and progress through peaceful coexistence, exchanges, and mutual learning.
“China and Guyana are far apart geographically, but our peoples have a long history of exchanges and deep friendship. Over the 54 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Guyana relations have grown stronger with time. Political mutual trust has continued to deepen. Cooperation has produced fruitful results. People-to-people exchanges have continued to expand. China and Guyana are good friends who respect and support each other, good partners who work closely together for common development, and good brothers with deep affection and mutual understanding”, she said.
She added that inter-party exchanges are an important part of China-Guyana relations and in 1962, Janet Jagan, then General Secretary of the PPP visited China despite obstruction from the colonial authorities and was warmly received by Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. This, the ambassador said, became an important chapter in the history of friendship between the two parties.
In recent years, she said that the International Department has invited PPP representatives to visit China every year.
“They include officials responsible for local affairs, youth, women, and publicity. On important occasions such as national congresses of the two parties, the two sides have exchanged congratulatory messages. This fully shows the traditional friendship and political mutual trust.
“Today, changes in the world are unfolding at a faster pace. The international situation is marked by both change and turbulence. Global challenges keep emerging. The stronger the winds and waves, the greater the need for us to pull together. Political parties are important forces for human progress. They must stay on the right course and shoulder the historic responsibility”, the ambassador declared.
Among those in attendance at the event were former President and former General Secretary of the PPP, Donald Ramotar and former foreign minister and former PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee. Also present was Lian Jihong, President of CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited which is a partner of ExxonMobil in the offshore Stabroek Block.
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