The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a party that seeks peace, harmony and reconciliation, unlike the Communist Party of the former Soviet Union (or CCCP), a prominent Chinese scholar said Tuesday.

"It's totally unfounded to assume that as it is called a communist party, the CPC will undoubtedly pursue the road of tyranny at home and expansion abroad adopted by the CCCP under Brezhnev," said Zheng Bijian, chairman of the China Reform Forum.

Zheng, a major contributor to China's peaceful rise theory, enunciated the peaceful nature of the CPC in an article entitled "Trends of the Communist Party of China in the 21st Century" on the front page of Tuesday's overseas edition of the People's Daily, China's leading newspaper.

Referring to Sino-US relations, which he refers to as the most important and most complex bilateral relations for both China and the United States, Zheng said the issue of fundamental importance to facilitating communication and understanding between the two sides on a long run is "how to view the CPC and its overall trendsin the 21st century."

"I think I shall start with the different approaches of the CPCand its Soviet peer in 1979," acknowledged Zheng, who also served as former vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

That year, the former Soviet Communist Party led by late General Secretary Brezhnev made a rash decision to intrude into Afghanistan in an endeavor to seek world hegemony under the slogan of "world revolution", he recalled. The CPC, nevertheless, on the contrary made a historical wise decision to carry out reform and open itself to the outside world and to embarked on a road focused on economic growth and building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Moreover, the CPC neither had intention to challenge the international order nor stood for altering or subverting it with violent means, he noted.

"Economic globalization provides China with means to gain access to international resources for its modernization drive through the market, rather than through expansion and fighting grab the resources of other countries," he said.

He went on to say that at the heart of its policies, the CPC seeks peace in relations with other nations, harmony at home and reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait.

Pertaining to the form of democracy, Zheng said "macro-democracy" without legal constraints could only bring disasters to the Chinese people. On the other hand, he explained, an improved democratic system with diversified forms of democracy and enhanced and orderly public participation in political affairs will bring benevolence and happiness to the people.

The entirely different roads taken by the two Communist Parties stemmed from different perspective views on the nature of socialism, different historical and cultural traditions and different perspectives of and actions taken concerning the aspirations of the nations and their people.

"The CPC holds socialism involves the development of productivity at home and promotion of peace in foreign relations", said Zheng. "The long-standing Chinese historical and cultural traditions, in the view of the CPC, advocates harmony, harmony while reserved differences, honesty, amity, treating neighboring nations kindly and friendly, and the philosophy of 'not to impose upon others what you would not like others to impose upon you.'"

The CPC considers what its nation and people aspire is absolutely to shake off poverty, make the nation prosperous and strong, realize national rejuvenation, achieve social harmony and bring happiness to the people, said Zheng.

After going through many disasters and untold miseries in history, the Chinese nation has been pursuing two major goals: safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity; and realizing development and modernization.

"The power of the CPC comes precisely from its steadfast push of the two major goals," said Zheng.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2005)