On 20 August, 2026, Chinese Ambassador Kang Yan published a signed article titled “Understanding China Starts with Understanding the CPC” on Dnevnik. The full article reads as follows:

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). When it was founded, the CPC had merely over 50 members. Today, its membership exceeds 100 million. It has grown into the world’s largest governing party, leading a major country of more than 1.4 billion people and wielding significant global influence. Its century-long journey is the most essential starting point for anyone seeking to truly understand China today.

I China owes its development achievements to the strong leadership of the CPC. Over the past 105 years, the Party has led the Chinese people from warfare to enduring peace and from poverty to prosperity, transforming a once poor and weak agricultural country into the world’s second-largest economy. In 2025, China’s economic output exceeded 140 trillion yuan, reaching a new milestone. For years running, China has contributed around 30% of global economic growth.

China has built the world’s largest education system, largest social security system and largest health-care system. Approximately 280 million students are enrolled at all levels of schooling. The enrollment rates of preschool education, nine-year compulsory education and senior high school education all stand above 92%, higher than the average of upper-middle-income countries. By the end of 2020, China had lifted nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents out of poverty. Average life expectancy has risen from 35 years before the founding of the People’s Republic of China to 79 years today.  

Authoritative international polls show that overall public satisfaction with the CPC in China exceeds 90%. Behind these statistics lies the transformation in the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people, as well as the fulfillment of a ruling party’s promises to its people.

II The CPC is not a political party in the traditional Western political context. No two leaves in the world are identical; nor are there identical histories, cultures or social systems. If multiparty elections are simply taken as the sole criterion for judging democracy, misunderstandings will inevitably arise. The CPC has no special interests of its own apart from the interests of the people. It never represents any interest group. Its mission is to seek happiness for the people, rejuvenation for the nation, and harmony for all mankind. The Chinese-style modernization led by the CPC is not about wealth for a few, but common prosperity for all the 1.4 billion Chinese people. 

China practices the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. It ensures the orderly participation of the Chinese people in state governance and helps build consensus and reduce internal friction. No system is inherently superior or inferior. What matters is whether it suits national conditions and delivers benefits to the people. China and Europe have different political systems. This should not serve as a barrier, but an opportunity for mutual learning and enriching humanity’s political civilization.

III One vital reason why the CPC remains vibrant after a century of trials is its courage in pursuing self-reform. The CPC has always been committed to turning inward to examine itself and having the courage to face up to problems and rectify mistakes. It exercises strict self-governance and restrains the exercise of power through institutions. From improving work conduct to advancing the fight against corruption, from refining the internal Party supervision system to strengthening ties between the Party and the people, the CPC maintains its advanced nature and purity through self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal and self-enhancement. 

It is this political character of never shying away from contradictions, never covering up problems and never avoiding necessary remedies that enables the CPC to continuously calibrate its course forward, renew the vitality of its organizations, and maintain an unbreakable flesh-and-blood bond with the people amid long-term governance.

IV Born at a time when the Chinese nation was beset with internal turmoil and foreign aggression, the CPC deeply cherishes hard-won peace, stability and development. This historical experience has profoundly shaped China’s commitment to peaceful development, openness and cooperation. For Europe, China’s development should not be simply regarded as a threat; instead, it represents an important opportunity to boost economic growth, advance green transition and industrial upgrading. From the merchants traveling along the ancient Silk Road to today’s China-Europe Railway Express running around the clock, openness and connectivity have always been a defining feature of China-Europe relations, laying a solid foundation for deeper cooperation between the two sides.

Looking ahead, the CPC will continue to engage the world with an open attitude. We hope the European side will view China and the CPC from an objective and rational perspective, seek the broadest common ground for cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, jointly advance the sound and steady development of China-Europe and China-Slovenia relations, and work together to bring greater stability and certainty to a turbulent world.