« The Chinese Communist Party, the Safeguarding of an Ideal of an Entire Generation

Djakoune Abdelwahab, editor-in-chief of the newspaper La Nouvelle République, in Heavenly Lake in the Hui Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. D.R.

Interview with Abdelwahab Djakoune

Mohsen Abdelmoumen: You recently made a trip to the People’s Republic of China. What do you take away from this trip?

Abdelwahab Djakoune: Before answering your question, I would like to point out that my relationship with this country is somewhat special, because behind it there is ideology, political conviction, and the fact that the only communist party that survived after the collapse of the socialist bloc is the Chinese Communist Party. And that constituted a disillusionment for everyone. That is why, for me, the Chinese Communist Party, with all the achievements it has managed to accomplish during its years of governance, represents for communists or left-wing people the only hope of seeing realized the ideal for which we fought. I speak objectively, in relation to what I was able to observe there.

Of course, critics of the Chinese system will say that there is no democracy, but I would answer that, on the contrary, there is grassroots democracy. It is enough to see how neighborhoods are managed and how actively citizens are involved in the management of public affairs. That is very important. For me, democracy as it is conceived in the West is a dumping ground for the masses as well as a means of perpetuating the capitalist system, since it does not touch its foundations. This fictitious Western democracy gives the masses the impression that they are free and enjoy all rights. But that is false, since there is a minority that enjoys the wealth of these countries and has created a middle class to serve as a buffer between it and the masses.

From my point of view, what we see in the West is a façade democracy, one whose corollary has been colonization and the exploitation of peoples in other lands. True democracy is that which involves the participation and commitment of citizens in decision-making, which is fundamental.

This was your second trip to this vast country. What changes did you observe compared to your previous trip?

When I went to China in 2008, there were none of these signs of wealth. Today, for example, in China, there is a very strong middle class, a very high purchasing power, and young Chinese dress like young people in the West. One no longer sees that uniform clothing for everyone. In 2008, I could not go out in Beijing because there was so much pollution. Today, there is no more pollution. Why? Because the Chinese have produced electric cars on a large scale and also hybrid cars. To cite only this measure, there is a regulation in force in Beijing that forbids hybrid cars and conventional fuel cars from circulating on certain days of the week, which has had a positive impact on the environment.

When you go to China today, you are practically in a Western country, which was not the case in 2008. The purchasing power of the Chinese has clearly improved, as I said before, and it can compete with that of capitalist countries. Another observation I made on my last trip is that the China of 2025 is no longer the China of 2008. In seventeen years there have been enormous changes, and I attribute this evolution to the clarity and soundness of the vision of the Chinese Communist Party, which has managed to combine rigor in political and ideological choices with, of course, a certain flexibility in economic choices. This is somewhat what Lenin did in the early years of the Soviet Revolution, when he said that it was possible to develop certain capitalist elements within directed economies. Simply because, from a theoretical point of view, this could bring us closer to the communist society or the ideal society to which everyone aspires.

You mean the NEP, Lenin’s New Economic Policy?

Exactly. The Chinese communists have thoroughly assimilated the Marxist-Leninist doctrine and applied it creatively to their concrete reality. Armed with this ideology, all problems are carefully examined and solutions are provided. For years, the Chinese were not allowed to have more than two children, which resulted in an aging society. How did they address this problem? With robotization. Today, robots replace humans; they have done what we have always defended, namely, they have addressed the question of how to lighten the workload of humans so that they can have more leisure time and devote themselves to other tasks such as reading or sports, for example. They have thought about the health and well-being of citizens. Human beings have been relieved of many burdens, which is very important.

At a time when the neoliberal world is falling apart, in your opinion, has the Chinese Communist Party won the battle of development?

Of course. Already, they have a certain conception of peace. They want to achieve peace throughout the world through the New Silk Road, that is to say, through trade. This is the new vision of the Chinese Communist Party. But will Western countries adhere to this approach? Will the West let China move toward this objective of developing large-scale trade between different countries? Today, for example, trains go from China to Poland. If there were no war in Ukraine, they would go further still. The Chinese do not have a bellicose vision—on the contrary. They aspire to economic exchanges that benefit everyone. For example, I was surprised to see in the free-trade zones products from all over the world, which proves that this is not a closed economy. One finds everything, and all the major brands. Likewise, the major hotel chains known worldwide exist in China.

Of course, there are security imperatives. To this end, the Chinese have developed their own armaments to defend themselves, and I think that the last parade broadcast on television to mark the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory over imperial Japan left an impression, but there was no bellicose or aggressive vision on the part of China, only a defensive one.

In your opinion, should Algeria draw inspiration from the Chinese model of development, and how?

Greatly, and sector by sector. Take for example the agricultural sector. We have a water problem due to low rainfall; we live in a semi-arid region. The Chinese solved this problem by practicing greenhouse cultivation in desert regions thanks to a system based on humidification. We could use it, for example, in the High Plateaus where we have a water problem, unlike in the South where we have water. The advantage with the Chinese is that they accept technology transfer in certain sectors such as agriculture, industry, etc., and we could benefit from this. For us, who are trying to ensure our food security, knowing that our diet is based on wheat and pasta, we could establish agreements with the Institute that the Chinese created to develop seeds that yield the most per hectare thanks to a cloning system. Since we have high-quality seeds such as Zenati wheat or El Hadba from Sétif, we can have very advanced relations with China in this area, and also in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

The Chinese are very advanced in this sector and we could benefit from their knowledge, especially since they are willing to work with us and have great respect for Algeria. Now, in choosing our partners, there is the problem of lobbies that can harm our relationship with China.

You think there are lobbies that can prevent us from working with China?

Of course. Take the example of the French lobby that exists in some spheres of our economy. Despite the so-called bad reputation that China’s detractors try to spread here, today, China is Algeria’s leading supplier and main customer. I think our President would do well to deepen our relationship with China even further, and I believe that during his last trip to China, he was enlightened. Without going into detail, the Chinese even want to develop our relations in sensitive sectors. I will say no more.

Do you think cooperation with China is one of our President’s priorities?

Certainly, and moving toward a deeper alliance given the current state of international relations. It is in our interest to have reliable allies, and not situational alliances based solely on interests. Therefore, we must move toward both political and economic alliances. Without wanting to give advice to anyone, in my humble opinion, a deep alliance is never an alignment, provided that its contours are determined in advance. It is a matter of our security.

We have a long history with the People’s Republic of China. In your opinion, how could we optimize our cooperation with China?

Indeed! Who among us does not remember the school supplies we received as donations after independence? I had the opportunity to write with Chinese pens and ink. So this is a relationship that goes back a long way. I can tell you that the Chinese have a very deep respect for Algeria, if only for its history and its struggle, because in the Chinese collective subconscious, Algeria defeated one of NATO’s greatest powers. And China also experienced the horrors of war with the Japanese. And so, in this respect, we have common ground and they understand what we endured during colonialism.

I remind you that they lost more than twenty million martyrs fighting the Japanese. Today, China is ready to develop deep economic and political relations with Algeria, we just need to be serious and respect our commitments and agreements. That is, of course, fundamental. We must be a credible partner. The Chinese have no prejudices toward Algeria—on the contrary, they feel respect and esteem.

They also have another point in common with us: total respect for the elderly. Among them, the old are cherished, in contrast with the images we see in certain Western countries. For example, in cultural events or tourist visits, there is always the presence of elders who are surrounded, pampered, and receive signs of respect from their children, as in our country. And then, I will also mention their extraordinary love for their country. They are nationalists, and their patriotism is wonderful and close to our own love for our country. Although we are a bit excessive, as many friends and comrades point out to us.

That must be our Mediterranean character…

Exactly.

Interview conducted by Mohsen Abdelmoumen

Who is Abdelwahab Djakoune?

Abdelwahab Djakoune graduated in Sociology from the Mentouri University of Constantine. He then pursued studies toward a DEA at the Institute of Sociology of Kharrouba. A graduate of the International Institute of Journalism of Berlin, he worked as a journalist at Révolution et Travail, as well as a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science and Journalism.

He has made several contributions to public newspapers such as El Massa, Horizons and Parcours Maghrébin. He is one of the founders of the newspapers Le Matin and La Nouvelle République, where he held the positions of director, not to mention his time at Alger Républicain. He was a columnist for years on public and private channels, mainly ENTV, Dzair News, Hayet TV and El Wataniya TV, as well as on national radio stations. He was also a four-time member of the Jury for the President’s Journalism Prize and once a member of the Ooredoo Jury for the Media Star competition.