Four Principles Governing Inter-Party Relations (Communist Parties)

It refers to the guidelines employed by the CPC in handling the relations with the political parties of other countries, particularly the communist and workers parties established since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee. Its contents include independence, complete equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

In May 1980, in a conversation with the responsible comrades of the Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping put forward the guiding principles for handling the relationship between the CPC and the parties of various countries. He said: " We have always opposed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union acting like a patriarchal Party and displaying great-power chauvinism. It pursues a hegemonist line and policy in foreign relations.”

“On the whole, we know how we should handle our relations with other Parties. Looking back, however, we can see that we haven’t always acted correctly.” “To sum up: we must respect the way the Parties and peoples of different countries deal with their own affairs. They should be left to find their own paths by themselves and explore ways to solve their own problems. No Party should act like a patriarchal Party and issue orders to others. We object to being ordered about and we, for our part, will never issue orders to others. This should be regarded as an important principle.”

On the basis of Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts and propositions, the 12th CPC National Congress put forward four principles for correctly handling the relations between different working-class parties: “Developing relations with the communist parties and other working class political parties in other countries based on Marxism, and in accordance with the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.”

The 13th CPC National Congress further expanded these four principles into principles for handling relations with all political parties in other countries. The basic connotations of these four principles are: adhering to the principle of independence in the inter-Party relations and allowing the parties in each country to decide their positions and propositions on international affairs, and manage all Party affairs and deal with relations with other parties. Relations between the parties in each country can only develop on the basis of equality. Due to the different circumstances in different countries, the development of the parties in each country is uneven, but they are all parties within the national scope, and are equal fraternal parties, thus the inter-Party relations must be handled in accordance with the principle of equality. Neither other parties are allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of their own Party, nor shall it interfere in the internal affairs of other parties, or of the other countries through Party relations.

The four principles of the Communist Party of China handling theinter-Party relations have opened a new era of inter-Party relations. Guided by this principle, the Communist Party of China had quickly restored relations with most of the working-class political parties in the world, and gradually restored and developed relations with social parties and other political parties in other countries since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee. The four principles of inter-Party relations have become an indispensable and important part of China’s foreign policies of independence and peaceful development.