JCP delegation and Chinese Marxism Academy delegation hold theoretical exchanges

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JCP delegation and Chinese Marxism Academy delegation hold theoretical exchanges

The Japanese Communist Party delegation led by Fuwa Tetsuzo, JCP Social Sciences Institute director, and the delegation of the Marxism Academy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences led by Hou Huiqin, vice director of the academy, discussed basic issues of scientific socialism in theoretical exchanges held at the JCP head office on October 11-13. The delegation arrived in Japan on October 10 at the invitation of the JCP Central Committee.

Members of the JCP delegation included Ogata Yasuo, JCP vice chair and international department director, Yamaguchi Tomio, Executive Committee member and Social Sciences Institute vice director, and Tamura Kazushi, Central Committee member and Propaganda Bureau vice director. The Chinese Marxism Academy delegation included Zhuang Qiansheng, the academy's vice director, and Deng Ping, its assistant.

Theoretical exchanges between the JCP and the CPC began in December 2005 in Tokyo, followed by discussions in May this year in Beijing. The latest meeting was the third of this kind and the first between the JCP delegation and the Marxism Academy, which is taking on an important role in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences today.

October 10

At the dinner held in Tokyo, Hou Huiqin said that this was the first Marxism Academy delegation to go abroad and that this shows that the academy attaches great importance to exchanges with the JCP.

Participants exchanged views about movements in Latin America for progressive change through elections, the peculiarities of the social system in Japan, an advanced capitalist country, and ways to develop future theoretical exchanges between the JCP and the Marxism Academy.

October 11

Referring to the universality that Marxism (scientific socialism) has, Fuwa emphasized that the JCP always tries to "understand the works of Marx and Engels in historical context." He explained how the JCP re-examined its theoretical activities.

The Chinese delegation spoke about the present features of studies on Marxism in China.

Answering questions raised by the Chinese delegation, Fuwa spoke about his view of the present stage of China's socialist construction and about democratic change pursued by the JCP within the framework of capitalism.

October 12

Pointing out the importance of avoiding two typical theoretical mistakes, dogmatism and empiricism, Hou gave his view of the basic concept of Marxism in relation to Hegel's philosophy.

Fuwa said, "We are called upon to display our Marxist perspective, particularly when we need to address new kinds of problems." To expand on this view, he cited the JCP's experiences, including the effort to establish its strategic policy of achieving a democratic revolution in Japan's postwar situation and the effort to better understand through actual experiences how the former Soviet Union degenerated and collapsed. He also pointed out that a further study is necessary in order to evaluate how Marxism transformed Hegel's dialectics.

Ogata answered questions concerning the JCP's view of the world that has been developed through its "opposition party diplomacy," and Yamaguchi spoke about Japanese researchers' and students' positive reactions to the JCP-CPC theoretical exchanges.

Fuwa expressed his view of the present state of socialist movements in the world. The Chinese delegation spoke about the historical experiences China underwent in its relations with the former Soviet Union and the lessons they drew from them. Commenting on this, Fuwa said that there are historical questions that need to be further examined.

Fuwa and Hou confirmed that the two days of theoretical exchanges were held in a friendly atmosphere and were successful. They said they will continue the discussion in various ways.

October 13

The Chinese delegation invited the JCP delegation to a dinner in Tokyo following the discussions at the JCP head office.

Hou said that the theoretical talks had brought important gains in the understanding of Marxist theory and different approaches to its study. He expressed hope that the two sides further develop their relations in which they exchange their ideas.

Recalling that in 1998, when the JCP and the CPC normalized their relations by 'starting from scratch' in order to evaluate each other, Fuwa pointed out that eight years later, the two parties came to the point where they stated their respective views of the world at the December 2005 discussion in Tokyo and that at this time, both sides reached the point where they had in-depth discussions on their views of the world. He stressed how significant it is for the two parties to have made such progress in their joint studies.

Delegates from both sides had additional discussions concerning other issues, including the Chinese Revolution and subsequent developments as well as the present trajectory.
-Akahata, October 11-14, 2006