By Ma Xiaowen

In 1936， U.S. journalist Edgar Snow made his first visit to Yanan， Shaanxi Province， home to the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） during the late 1930s and early 1940s. At that time， China faced a severe crisis from Japanese aggression while the corrupt Kuomintang regime refused to form a united front of resistance with the CPC. The CPC-led Red Army had just settled down in north Shaanxi after an epic military trek called the Long March to break the siege of the Kuomintang forces and fight the Japanese aggressors.

However， when Snow arrived in Yanan， he was amazed to find that local residents were leading a peaceful and vibrant life. During his fourmonth stay， he interviewed dozens of CPC leaders.Some interviews were conducted inside local cave-dwellings； some discussions ran late into the night. It was through Snows reports that the Western world came to know the real CPC and its call to resist Japanese aggression. With common ground built and support flooding in， the rest is history.

Proactive international engagement

More than 80 years have passed since Snows visit. The CPCs passion for embracing the world continues， and has become more ardent. The Party has evolved from a few dozen members at its founding into what it is right now， the 91-million-strong ruling party of a country with the worlds second largest economy. With the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity， China is offering Chinese wisdom and solutions to world problems， and the CPC is becoming proactive in international engagement.

In the run-up to the July 1 celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the CPCs founding， China and Turkey launched an exchange mechanism for their ruling parties to swap experiences in governance. Seminars were also held between the CPC and political parties from other countries such as Austria， Egypt and Pacific island countries.

“It would be hard to understand the miracle of Chinas development， if one does not know about how the CPC works，” Jin Xin， head of the Research Office of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee （IDCPC）， said on the sidelines of a recent forum on the Partys external work.

Political parties should be the source and facilitators of a nations domestic and diplomatic policies， as well as work in the interests of the people. By and large， whether political parties function effectively or not can impact the international landscape.