Shanghai—This week, the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, celebrates its centennial. Founded in 1921 by 12 men in a modest Shanghai townhouse, the party led a revolution that eventually established the People’s Republic in 1949. The rest is history. Is the party getting old at 100? Or is it still young? The future of China, and indeed that of the world, hinges on the answer to this question.
Whatever the qualms about the party and China’s political system, it is difficult to argue that the party has not been successful. In 1949, China was poor, partially colonized, and citizens had an average life expectancy of 41. Today, the mighty G-7 nations see it as a serious competitor. And the CCP did this on the scale of 1.4 billion people. This achievement is unmatched, but can the party keep doing it—and for how long? I would like to suggest that the party is now engaged in a significant project of renewal, which is placing this century-old organization at the vanguard of the nation’s youth. The world may be missing this important development.
