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83-595: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , responsible for the country's foreign relations . It is led by the minister of foreign affairs , currently Wang Yi , who serves as the nation's principal representative abroad. The ministry is headquartered in Chaoyang District , Beijing ,

166-713: A Marxist was one way for a Chinese intellectual to reject both the traditions of the Chinese past and Western domination of the Chinese present." Immediately following the Long March , Mao and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were headquartered in the Yan'an Soviet in Shaanxi . During this period, Mao established himself as a Marxist theoretician and produced most of the works that would later be canonised as

249-510: A correct analysis of many problems, he confused right and wrong and the people with the enemy [...] herein lies his tragedy. Scholars outside China see this re-working of the definition of Maoism as providing an ideological justification for what they see as the restoration of the essentials of capitalism in China by Deng and his successors, who sought to "eradicate all ideological and physiological obstacles to economic reform". In 1978, this led to

332-631: A correspondingly unique application of Marxist theory, an application that would have to diverge from the Soviet approach. Beginning in the Yan'an period, Mao Zedong Thought became the ideological guide for developing revolutionary culture and a long-term social movement. Unlike the Mature period, this period was intellectually barren. Mao focused more on revolutionary practice and paid less attention to Marxist theory. He continued to emphasise theory as practice-oriented knowledge. The most crucial topic of

415-632: A leader's political thinking in the Marxist tradition is important in establishing a leader's ideological legitimacy. Mao Zedong Thought is frequently described as the result of collaboration between the first-generation leaders of the Party and is principally based on Mao's analysis of Marxism and Chinese history. It is often also described as the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context. Observing that concepts of both Marxism and Chinese culture were and are contested, academic Rebecca Karl writes that

498-420: A minimum of Marxist category thought. His writings in this period failed to elaborate on what he meant by the "Marxist method of political and class analysis". Before this period, Mao was concerned with the dichotomy between knowledge and action. He was more concerned with the dichotomy between revolutionary ideology and counter-revolutionary objective conditions. There was more correlation drawn between China and

581-535: A new segment of Chinese society, a modern intelligentsia whose arrival—or as the historian of China Maurice Meisner would label it, their defection—heralded the beginning of the destruction of the gentry as a social class in China. The fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 marked the final failure of the Confucian moral order, and it did much to make Confucianism synonymous with political and social conservatism in

664-406: A series of important theories for socialist construction." After the death of Mao in 1976 and the resulting power struggles in China that followed, the international Maoist movement was divided into three camps. One group, composed of various ideologically nonaligned groups, gave weak support to the new Chinese leadership under Deng Xiaoping. Another camp denounced the new leadership as traitors to

747-527: A two-year-reprieve, while others were sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for 15 years. After the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre , Mao's influence continued to be weaker. Although not very influential, some radical Maoists, disgruntled by the injustices suffered by migrant workers, organized a number of protests and strikes, including the Jasic incident . In the 2020s, influenced by

830-692: Is located in Chaoyang District , Beijing , the country's primary diplomatic quarter. Ministries of the People%27s Republic of China The current 14th State Council has 26 constituent departments, 21 ministries, three commissions, along with the People's Bank of China and the National Audit Office. It also has a General Office, one directly affiliated specialized institution, 14 directly affiliated institutions, one office, 7 directly affiliated public institutions, and 17 national bureaus managed by ministries and commissions of

913-557: Is regarded by today's CCP as an economic and political disaster. In Deng's day, support of radical Maoism was regarded as a form of "left deviationism" and based on a cult of personality , although these "errors" are officially attributed to the Gang of Four rather than Mao himself. Thousands of Maoists were arrested in the Hua Guofeng period after 1976. The prominent Maoists Zhang Chunqiao and Jiang Qing were sentenced to death with

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996-524: Is that China has now reached an economic and political stage, known as the primary stage of socialism , in which China faces new and different problems completely unforeseen by Mao, and as such, the solutions that Mao advocated are no longer relevant to China's current conditions. The 1981 Resolution reads: Chief responsibility for the grave 'Left' error of the 'cultural revolution,' an error comprehensive in magnitude and protracted in duration, does indeed lie with Comrade Mao Zedong [...] [and] far from making

1079-522: Is the keynote to Mao's intellectual orientation in the post-1949 period." Mao assertively revised the theory to relate it to the new practice of socialist construction. These revisions are apparent in the 1951 version of On Contradiction . "In the 1930s, when Mao talked about contradiction, he meant the contradiction between subjective thought and objective reality. In Dialectal Materialism of 1940, he saw idealism and materialism as two possible correlations between subjective thought and objective reality. In

1162-833: The Cultural Revolution when it was launched in 1966, launching a few political study sessions. However, the movement gradually caught the Ministry's attention and after Mao received a letter from a member of the Communist Party of Austria complaining about the conduct and extravagance of Chinese diplomats in the country, he instructed Chen, writing, "[R]evolutionize or there will be danger". This prompted Chen to instruct reforms to diplomatic protocols, and diplomatic mission abroad were required to promote Mao Zedong Thought , wear Mao suits and Chairman Mao badges and intensify political study sessions. The rebels within

1245-654: The May Fourth Movement in 1919, during which a protest began with 3,000 students in Beijing displaying their anger at the announcement of the Versailles Treaty's concessions to Japan. The protest turned violent as protesters began attacking the homes and offices of ministers who were seen as cooperating with or being in the direct pay of the Japanese. The popular movement which followed "catalyzed

1328-608: The Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China . A difference between Maoism and traditional Marxism–Leninism is that a united front of progressive forces in class society would lead the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than communist revolutionaries alone. This theory, in which revolutionary praxis is primary and ideological orthodoxy is secondary, represents urban Marxism–Leninism adapted to pre-industrial China. Later theoreticians expanded on

1411-602: The Sino-Albanian split when Albanian leader Enver Hoxha denounced Deng as a revisionist and formed Hoxhaism as an anti-revisionist form of Marxism. The CCP officially regards Mao himself as a "great revolutionary leader" for his role in fighting against the Japanese fascist invasion during the Second World War and creating the People's Republic of China, but Maoism, as implemented between 1959 and 1976,

1494-631: The United States Department of State accused the MFA of information laundering by using a fictitious opinion columnist named "Yi Fan" to present state narratives as "organic sentiment". The ministry is headed by the minister of foreign affairs , who is appointed by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee after a nomination by the premier . The ministry leads the work of diplomatic missions of China abroad,

1577-709: The growing wealth gap and the 996 working hour system , Mao's thoughts are being revived in China's generation Z , as they question authority of the CCP. The Chinese government has censored some Maoist posts. The 2021 The Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century describes Mao Zedong Thought as "a summation of theories, principles, and experience on China's revolution and construction that has been proven correct through practice, and [having] put forward

1660-656: The "Thought of Mao Zedong". The rudimentary philosophical base of Chinese Communist ideology is laid down in Mao's numerous dialectical treatises and was conveyed to newly recruited party members. This period established ideological independence from Moscow for Mao and the CCP. Although the Yan'an period did answer some of the ideological and theoretical questions raised by the Chinese Communist Revolution , it left many crucial questions unresolved, including how

1743-638: The 17 ambassadors appointed abroad between October 1949 and 1952, twelve were senior military officials, nine were survivors of the Long March and only three had previously been abroad. Additionally, the new Ministry did not recruit former diplomats from the Kuomintang that opted to stay in the PRC, instead creating a new diplomatic corps entirely. The MFA of the PRC was established in September 1954, after

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1826-407: The 1940s, he introduced no new elements into his understanding of the subject-object contradiction. In the 1951 version of On Contradiction , he saw contradiction as a universal principle underlying all processes of development, yet with each contradiction possessed of its own particularity." In 1956, Mao first fully theorized his view of continual revolution. Maoism and Marxism differ in how

1909-564: The 1990s, with many diplomatic missions cutting staff and starting to employ locals. Job descriptions were also clarified, and the promotion system standardized. As China's engagement with the world increased, the ministry established the Department of External Security Affairs in 2004, with its function being protecting citizens abroad. It furthermore established the Center for Consular Protection in 2007. China's rising stature also meant that

1992-610: The Chinese Communist Party . Foreign policies concerning the Republic of China fall under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan Affairs Office . As of 2024, the ministry maintains the largest diplomatic network in the world, with 274 diplomatic posts. Before the proclamation of the People's Republic of China , the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) handled foreign relations through its Foreign Affairs Group, established on 1 May 1947. The Foreign Affairs Group

2075-445: The Chinese Communist Party was supposed to launch a socialist revolution while wholly separated from the urban sphere. Mao's intellectual development can be divided into five significant periods, namely: Marxist thinking employs immanent socioeconomic explanations, whereas Mao's reasons were declarations of his enthusiasm. Mao did not believe education alone would transition from capitalism to communism for three main reasons. (1)

2158-725: The Communist Party's Central Committee adopted the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People's Republic of China . The Resolution assesses the legacy of the Mao era, describing Mao as first among equals in the development of Mao Zedong Thought before 1949 and deeming Mao Zedong Thought as successful in establishing national independence, transforming China's social classes,

2241-411: The Communist Party's Constitution as Deng Xiaoping abolished most Maoist practices in 1978, advancing a guiding ideology called " socialism with Chinese characteristics ". Shortly after Mao died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping initiated socialist market reforms in 1978, thereby beginning the radical change in Mao's ideology in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although Mao Zedong Thought nominally remains

2324-827: The Great Leap Forward, the Anti-rightist movement of the 1950s, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960s-1970s . The social upheavals that occurred from the New Culture Movement - as well as the May Fourth Movement that followed it - largely focused around the dismantling of traditional Han Chinese cultural norms in which the majority of the populace were illiterate and largely uneducated. This consequence of this social dynamic

2407-536: The Ministry established the "Foreign Ministry Revolutionary Rebel Station" later in 1966 and stated their intention to overthrow the CCP committee in the Ministry. The Ministry started recalling personnel overseas back into Beijing in 1967 to take part in the Cultural Revolution, causing immense strains in China's diplomatic corps. The rebel groups attempted to take in the Ministry in August 1967, paralyzing

2490-443: The Ministry's Political Department for two weeks. Many of China's diplomats were sent to May Seventh Cadre Schools after their establishment in 1968 until their disestablishment in 1971. After Mao decided to restore order in the country in late 1968, Zhou started to plan bringing back normality to the Ministry, and some diplomats started to return abroad in late 1969. The Ministry-affiliated Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs

2573-460: The PLA sought to restrain the mass organizations that had developed during the early phase of the Cultural Revolution, and began reframing the movement as one to study Mao Zedong Thought rather than using it as a guide to immediate action. Mao drew from the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin in elaborating his theory. Philosophically, his most important reflections emerge on

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2656-531: The Soviet Union was similar to the New Culture and May Fourth movements experienced by China in that it also placed a great importance on mass education and the normalisation of challenging of traditional cultural norms in the realising of a socialist society. However, the movements occurring in the Soviet Union had a far more adversarial mindset towards proponents of traditional values, with leadership in

2739-441: The Soviet model. Intellectually, this was Mao's most fruitful time. The orientation shift was apparent in his pamphlet Strategic Problems of China's Revolutionary War (December 1936). This pamphlet tried to provide a theoretical veneer for his concern with revolutionary practice. Mao started to separate from the Soviet model since it was not automatically applicable to China. China's unique set of historical circumstances demanded

2822-507: The State Council Ministry of Commerce 国家计划委员会 ↓ (renamed 1998) State Development Planning Commission 国家发展计划委员会 1954 (of PRC) 国家经济委员会 国家经济体制改革委员会 国家体育运动委员会 1954 (of PRC) 国家机械工业委员会 Maoism Maoism , officially Mao Zedong Thought , is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of

2905-593: The State Council. Each department is headed by a minister, director, governor or auditor-general, who is responsible for the work of their department. Each department head is confirmed by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee on the recommendation of the premier , and ceremonially appointed by the president afterwards. According to the Organic Law of the State Council,

2988-504: The State Council. Generally, the authority of government departments is defined by regulations and rules rather than law. The 14th State Council has 26 constituent departments. State Councillor Minister of Public Security The Ministry of Education retains the external nameplate of the National Language Working Committee. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology retains

3071-430: The capitalists would not repent and turn towards communism on their own; (2) the rulers must be overthrown by the people; (3) "the proletarians are discontented, and a demand for communism has arisen and had already become a fact." These reasons do not provide socioeconomic explanations, which usually form the core of Marxist ideology. In this period, Mao avoided all theoretical implications in his literature and employed

3154-804: The cause of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought. The third camp sided with the Albanians in denouncing the Three Worlds Theory of the CCP (see the Sino-Albanian split ). The pro-Albanian camp would start to function as an international group as well (led by Enver Hoxha and the APL ) and was also able to amalgamate many of the communist groups in Latin America , including the Communist Party of Brazil . Later, Latin American Communists, such as Peru's Shining Path , also embraced

3237-437: The cities from the countryside". Maoism views the industrial-rural divide as a major division exploited by capitalism, identifying capitalism as involving industrial urban developed First World societies ruling over rural developing Third World societies. Maoism identifies peasant insurgencies in particular national contexts as part of a context of world revolution, in which Maoism views the global countryside as overwhelming

3320-423: The communists". Holding that " political power grows out of the barrel of a gun ", Maoism emphasises the "revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people against the exploiting classes and their state structures", which Mao termed a " people's war ". Mobilizing large parts of rural populations to revolt against established institutions by engaging in guerrilla warfare , Maoist Thought focuses on "surrounding

3403-507: The concept of "contradiction" ( maodun ). In two major essays, On Contradiction and On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People , he adopts the idea that contradiction is present in matter itself and thus also in the ideas of the brain. Matter always develops through a dialectical contradiction: "The interdependence of the contradictory aspects present in all things and the struggle between these aspects determine

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3486-601: The country's primary diplomatic quarter. The MFA's primary functions include formulating foreign policy , administering the nation's diplomatic missions , representing Chinese interests at the United Nations , negotiating foreign treaties and agreements, and advising the State Council on foreign affairs. The Ministry is subordinate to the Central Foreign Affairs Commission , which decides on policy-making and led by General Secretary of

3569-464: The development of Mao Zedong Thought is best viewed as the result of Mao's mutual interpretation of these concepts producing Mao's view of theory and revolutionary practice. Mao Zedong Thought asserts that class struggle continues even if the proletariat has already overthrown the bourgeoisie and there are capitalist restorationist elements within the CCP itself. Maoism provided the CCP's first comprehensive theoretical guideline regarding how to continue

3652-539: The development of economic self-sufficiency, the expansion of education and health care, and China's leadership role in the Third World. The Resolution describes setbacks during the period 1957 to 1964 (although it generally affirms this period) and major mistakes beginning in 1965. The Resolution describes upholding the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought and Marxism-Leninism as among the Communist Party's cardinal principles. Contemporary Maoists in China criticise

3735-2195: The external nameplate of the National Nuclear Safety Administration . The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is supplemented with the nameplate of the National Rural Revitalization Administration . 1954 (of PRC) 1954 (of PRC) ∟ National Railway Administration China Railway Corporation 1954 (of PRC) 1954 (of PRC) → Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation  [ zh ] (MOFTEC) (renamed 1993) State Post Bureau 1954 (of PRC) 1954 (of PRC) → Ministry of Radio, Film and Television  [ zh ] (renamed 1986) → Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources  [ zh ] (renamed 1982) 1954 (of PRC) Ministry of Electronics Industry China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Ministry of Coal Industry  [ zh ] Ministry of Electric Industry  [ zh ] Ministry of Personnel  [ zh ] → Ministry of Space Industry (renamed 1982) → Ministry of Aviation Industry (renamed 1982) → 2nd Ministry of Machine Building (renamed 1958) → Ministry of Nuclear Industry (renamed 1982) → Ministry of Ordnance Industry (renamed 1982) 1954 (of PRC) 1954 (of PRC) → 8th Ministry of Machine Building (renamed 1965) 1954 (of PRC) Ministry of Public Security 4th Ministry of Machine Building (electronics industry) 5th Ministry of Machine Building (ordnance industry) 6th Ministry of Machine Building (shipbuilding industry) 1954 (of PRC) 1954 (of PRC) Ministry of Petroleum Industry  [ zh ] Ministry of Electric Industry  [ zh ] 国家卫生和计划生育委员会 国家计划生育委员会 ↓ (renamed 2003) National Population and Family Planning Commission 国家人口和计划生育委员会 国防科学技术工业委员会 ∟ State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence 国家经济贸易委员会 State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of

3818-554: The external nameplates of China National Space Administration and of China Atomic Energy Authority . The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is supplemented with the nameplate of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs . The Ministry of Natural Resources retains the external nameplate of the State Oceanic Administration . The Ministry of Ecology and Environment retains

3901-401: The fall of the Gang of Four in 1976, Qiao was purged and succeeded by Huang Hua . After Deng Xiaoping 's rise to power, diplomatic missions abroad were instructed to focus on Four Modernizations campaign. In 1982, Hu Yaobang , then leader of the CCP , called a meeting with senior diplomats to demand the "rectification" of the Ministry, focusing on making it less ideological. The Ministry

3984-424: The first meeting of the National People's Congress , and became a department of the State Council . The Ministry's importance to China's foreign policy apparatus has increased and decreased over time. In 1956, as China's diplomat engagement increased, a West Asian and African Affairs was established; previously Western European and African affairs were handled by the same department. During this period, Zhou oversaw

4067-430: The global cities. Due to this imperialism by the capitalist urban First World toward the rural Third World, Maoism has endorsed national liberation movements in the Third World. Building on the theory of the vanguard party by Vladimir Lenin , the theory of the mass line outlines a strategy for the revolutionary leadership of the masses, consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat , and strengthening of

4150-444: The government, with the goal of reinstating traditionalism and capitalism in China. Leaning more on the example of the Soviet Union, which involved the silencing and subjugation of adversarial political forces to help bring about a cultural change, Mao called for his followers to speak openly and critically about revisionist forces that they were observing in society and to expel them, assuring them that their actions would be endorsed by

4233-416: The head presides over the executive meetings of the department, and "signs important requests for instructions and reports to be submitted to the State Council as well as the orders and directives to be issued". Each department additionally has two to four deputy heads (vice ministers, deputy directors, deputy governors and deputy auditors-general), assisting the department head. They are appointed or removed by

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4316-459: The idea that Mao had adapted Marxism–Leninism to Chinese conditions, arguing that he had in fact updated it fundamentally and that Maoism could be applied universally throughout the world. This ideology is often referred to as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism to distinguish it from the original ideas of Mao. From the 1950s until the Chinese economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s, Maoism

4399-480: The international Maoist movement evolved out of the second camp—the parties that opposed Deng and said they upheld the true legacy of Mao. The theory of the New Democracy was known to the Chinese revolutionaries from the late 1940s. This thesis held that for most people, the "long road to socialism " could only be opened by a "national, popular, democratic, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution, run by

4482-497: The largest in the world as of 2024 with 274 diplomatic posts. More specifically, it includes 173 embassies, 91 consulates, 8 permanent missions and 2 other representations. The ministry consists of 29 individual offices, including departments responsible for specific regions, policy areas, as well as administration of the Ministry itself. Each office is headed by a director-general with at least two deputy directors-general. The offices are: The ministry maintains Commissioner Offices in

4565-489: The minds of Chinese intellectuals. This association of conservatism and Confucianism lent to the iconoclastic nature of Chinese intellectual thought during the first decades of the 20th century. Chinese iconoclasm was expressed most clearly and vociferously by Chen Duxiu during the New Culture Movement , which occurred between 1915 and 1919. Proposing the "total destruction of the traditions and values of

4648-462: The ministry has required that its diplomats operate in pairs, although enforcement of the rule has varied over time. Inside embassies and consulates, CCP branch organizations monitor the behavior of diplomats. Ministry personnel are typically graduates of well-regarded Beijing and Shanghai universities, mostly Peking University , Tsinghua University , China Foreign Affairs University , and Beijing Foreign Studies University . Political loyalty remains

4731-554: The ministry worked together and sometimes competed with other institutions while conducting diplomacy, including the Ministry of Commerce , the Ministry of Public Security , and various state-owned enterprises . The Ministry's significance in China's foreign policy establishment has increased since 2009 and it has a higher profile both domestically and internationally. From 2011 to 2018, its diplomatic budget doubled. The Ministry has become increasingly visible to foreign audiences since

4814-670: The ministry's most important criterion in selecting recruits. Following the passage of the People's Republic of China Diplomatic Missions in Foreign Countries Act, the minimum age for diplomats posted overseas was raised from 18 to 23. In 1966, the ministry moved its headquarters to a set of buildings in the Dongjiaomin Lane, East of the Forbidden City , after an earthquake damaged the old building. The ministry got its current headquarters in 1997, which

4897-523: The party and that their efforts would in no way be interfered with. This warrant granted to the public ultimately lead to roughly ten years in which those seen as "Revisionist" forces - largely understood to mean landlords, rich peasants, and the so-called "bourgeoise academic" - were publicly criticised and denounced in places of gathering, and in more extreme examples had physical violence inflicted on them, including being beaten, tortured, and/or killed for their perceived crimes. Beginning in 1967, Mao and

4980-479: The party and the building of socialism . The mass line can be summarised as "from the masses, to the masses". It has three components or stages: These three steps should be applied repeatedly, reiteratively uplifting practice and knowledge to higher and higher stages. The theory of cultural revolution - rooted in Marxism-Leninism thought - states that the proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of

5063-548: The party taking action to censor and exile these "enemies of change" on over 200 occasions, rather than exclusively putting pressure on these forces by enacting additive social changes such as education campaigns. The most prominent example of a Maoist application of cultural revolution can be seen in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s wherein Mao claimed that "Revisionist" forces had entered society and infiltrated

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5146-467: The past", the New Culture Movement, spearheaded by the New Youth , a periodical published by Chen Duxiu, profoundly influenced the young Mao Zedong, whose first published work appeared in the magazine's pages. Along with iconoclasm, radical anti-imperialism dominated the Chinese intellectual tradition and slowly evolved into a fierce nationalist fervor which influenced Mao's philosophy immensely and

5229-412: The political awakening of a society which had long seemed inert and dormant." Another international event would have a significant impact not only on Mao but also on the Chinese intelligentsia. The Russian Revolution elicited great interest among Chinese intellectuals, although the socialist revolution in China was not considered a viable option until after the 4 May Incident. Afterward, "[t]o become

5312-659: The professionalization and formalization of the Ministry, including establishing standard operating procedures on areas such as the Ministry's official responsibilities and training guidelines. The Ministry was hit by the Anti-Rightist Campaign , launched by Mao Zedong in 1957 after the Hundred Flowers Campaign , with its quota for finding "rightists" being around 5 percent. On 11 February 1958, Chen Yi succeeded Zhou as foreign minister. The Ministry personnel initially paid little attention to

5395-413: The proletariat do not wipe out bourgeois ideology; the class struggle continues and even intensifies during socialism. Therefore, a constant struggle against bourgeois ideology, traditional cultural values, and the social roots that encourage both of them must be conducted in order to create and maintain a society in which socialism can succeed. Practical examples of this theory's application can be seen in

5478-587: The proletariat is defined and in which political and economic conditions would start a communist revolution . The CCP's ideological framework distinguishes between political ideas described as "Thought" (as in Mao Zedong Thought) or as "Theory" (as in Deng Xiaoping Theory ). Thought carries more weight than Theory and conveys the greater relative importance of a leader's ideological and historical influence. The process of formalizing

5561-590: The proliferation of its Twitter accounts and its diplomats' increased social media activity since 2019. While previously China's embassies were subject to influence by various ministries, after 2019 reforms, the Ministry has veto power over financial and personnel decisions at Chinese embassies. In October 2022, it was reported that the MFA asked consular missions in Hong Kong about their floor plans, lease details, and staff residences, and also asked to inspect new premises before staff enter them. In September 2023,

5644-403: The rapid social changes underwent by post-revolution Soviet Union in the late 1920s -1930s as well as pre-revolution China in the New Culture and May Fourth movements of the 1910s-1920s. Both of these sociocultural movements can be seen as shaping Maoist theory on the need for and goals of Cultural Revolution, and subsequently the mass cultural movements enacted by the CCP under Mao, which include

5727-477: The social inequalities created by the revisionist Communist Party. Some Maoists say that Deng's Reform and Opening economic policies that introduced market principles spelled the end of Maoism in China. However, Deng asserted that his reforms were upholding Mao Zedong Thought in accelerating the output of the country's productive forces. A recent example of a Chinese politician regarded as neo-Maoist in terms of political strategies and mass mobilisation via red songs

5810-399: The socialist revolution, the creation of a socialist society, and socialist military construction and highlights various contradictions in society to be addressed by what is termed "socialist construction". While it continues to be lauded to be the major force that defeated "imperialism and feudalism" and created a "New China" by the Chinese Communist Party, the ideology survives only in name on

5893-776: The special administrative regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau , which handle the foreign affairs of the SARs. The ministry also operates the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) for "people-to-people" diplomatic activities, and jointly administers the China Foreign Affairs University together with the Ministry of Education . The ministry is also involved in the foreign aid process through administering humanitarian assistance China provides. The ministry has over 5,000 diplomats and support personnel as of at least 2024. From its outset,

5976-454: The state ideology, Deng's admonition to " seek truth from facts " means that state policies are judged on their practical consequences, and in many areas, the role of ideology in determining policy has thus been considerably reduced. Deng also separated Mao from Maoism, making it clear that Mao was fallible, and hence the truth of Maoism comes from observing social consequences rather than by using Mao's quotations dogmatically. On June 27, 1981,

6059-410: The tenets of Maoism. The new Chinese leadership showed little interest in the foreign groups supporting Mao's China. Many of the foreign parties that were fraternal parties aligned with the Chinese government before 1975 either disbanded, abandoned the new Chinese government entirely, or even renounced Marxism–Leninism and developed into non-communist, social democratic parties. What is today called

6142-458: The theory he delved into was in connection with the Cheng Feng movement of 1942. Here, Mao summarised the correlation between Marxist theory and Chinese practice: "The target is the Chinese revolution, the arrow is Marxism–Leninism. We Chinese communists seek this arrow for no other purpose than to hit the target of the Chinese revolution and the revolution of the east." The only new emphasis

6225-451: The turn of the 19th century, the contemporary Chinese intellectual tradition was defined by two central concepts: iconoclasm and nationalism . By the turn of the 20th century, a proportionately small yet socially significant cross-section of China's traditional elite (i.e., landlords and bureaucrats) found themselves increasingly sceptical of the efficacy and even the moral validity of Confucianism . These skeptical iconoclasts formed

6308-534: Was Bo Xilai in Chongqing . Although Mao Zedong Thought is still listed as one of the Four Cardinal Principles of the People's Republic of China, its historical role has been re-assessed. The Communist Party now says that Maoism was necessary to break China free from its feudal past, but it also says that the actions of Mao led to excesses during the Cultural Revolution. The official view

6391-435: Was Mao's concern with two types of subjectivist deviation: (1) dogmatism , the excessive reliance upon abstract theory; (2) empiricism , excessive dependence on experience. In 1945, the party's first historical resolution put forward Mao Zedong Thought as the party's unified ideology. It was also incorporated into the party's constitution . To Mao, the victory of 1949 was a confirmation of theory and practice. "Optimism

6474-487: Was abolished on 30 September 1949, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Central People's Government was established on 1 October 1949, the day of the PRC's proclamation. Zhou Enlai , also appointed as premier, became the first foreign minister of the PRC. The ministry was formally inaugurated by Zhou on 8 November 1949. The Ministry initially had 170 staff, a number which increased to nearly 2,000 by 1960. Of

6557-529: Was also re-activated. By 1971, with the admission of the PRC into the United Nations, the country's diplomacy began to normalize. However, the Ministry was increasingly factionalized, especially between the "Lord Qiao", associates of Qiao Guanhua , and "young girl", referring to Mao's close associates Wang Hairong and Tang Wensheng , factions. Chen Yi died on 6 January 1972, and was succeeded by Ji Pengfei as foreign minister. After Mao's death and

6640-499: Was also reformed to improve professionalism and efficiency; the number of vice ministers was reduced from ten to six in 1982, and diplomats below the rank of vice minister were automatically retired after becoming older than the age of sixty since 1983. Professional diplomats were preferred over and increasingly replaced the old military veterans. Wages were also reformed, rewarding those with higher ranks and boosting incomes of diplomats abroad. Wage and bureaucratic reforms continued during

6723-639: Was crucial in adapting Marxism to the Chinese model. Vital to understanding Chinese nationalist sentiments of the time is the Treaty of Versailles , which was signed in 1919. The Treaty aroused a wave of bitter nationalist resentment in Chinese intellectuals as lands formerly ceded to Germany in Shandong were—without consultation with the Chinese—transferred to Japanese control rather than returned to Chinese sovereignty. The adverse reaction culminated in

6806-628: Was that political and economic power largely resided in the hands of a small group of educated elites, and Han Chinese culture formed around principles of respect and reverence for these educated and powerful authority figures. The aforementioned movements sought to combat these social norms through grassroots educational campaigns which were focused primarily around giving educational opportunities towards to people from traditionally uneducated families and normalising all people to be comfortable making challenges towards traditional figures of authority in Confucian society. The cultural revolution experienced by

6889-475: Was the political and military ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and Maoist revolutionary movements worldwide. After the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union each claimed to be the sole heir and successor to Joseph Stalin concerning the correct interpretation of Marxism–Leninism and the ideological leader of world communism . At

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