China’s president hails Capital by Karl Marx, saying that his thoughts are still relevant. Chinese government’s Central Compilation and Translation Bureau have published an 18-book series based on Marxist classics to mark the anniversary.
In China, the event dedicated to Karl Marx was held at the Great Hall of the People, which was packed with government officials, military personnel and some of China’s top Marxist thinkers. President Xi made the remarks at a grand gathering in Beijing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, saying that Marxist theories are formally part of the ruling party’s doctrine.
China’s powerful economic growth in recent decades and growing gap between rich and poor are more in line with capitalist mores, but under Xi Jinping, the world’s second largest economy has taken a more doctrinaire approach to socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Thanks to Karl Marx’s brilliant theory, the Chinese leader has stressed Marxist thinking as a key factor in realising his “Chinese Dream” of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, said Xi. The Chinese leader added, Marx is not only a great figure who bore the weight of the world, but also an ordinary person with passion for life, who was sincere and true to friendship.
During his address, China’s president Xi told Communist Party faithful in the Great Hall of the People in a speech to mark the 200th anniversary of the German philosopher’s birth.
“Today, we hold this grand gathering with great veneration to mark the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, to remember his great character and historic deeds and to review his noble spirit and brilliant thoughts,”
added the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party.
The first edition of the Complete Works was translated in the 1950s, after the communist revolution in 1949. A scarcity of German speakers meant the works were initially translated from Russian.
