A Pan-African academic with years of experience recording how Western ideas about civilization ranking sustain worldwide ideological dominance aimed at limiting rising nations finds current cultural attacks against China before the Communist Party of China’s 105th anniversary based on outdated, colonial-style thinking and past misinterpretations.
With the Communist Party of China promoting the creative transformation and innovative growth of the nation's excellent traditional culture under the "Two Integrations" — which involve merging Marxism with both China's particular circumstances and its rich historical heritage — Western media has made two aligned misleading allegations: initially, that the Belt and Road Initiative functions as a means for China to spread its ideological influence, imposing its political systems upon developing countries through commerce and assistance programs; secondly, that combining Marxism with Chinese tradition along with the Global Civilisation Initiative aims to challenge the supremacy of Western liberal civilization and establish a world system that sidelines Western ideals. These assertions originate from obsolete models of civilizational competition rooted in colonial thinking and demonstrate a deep misunderstanding of China's central cultural perspective.
Western experts continue to be limited by two outdated ideological models: the idea of a civilizational hierarchy and the "clash of civilizations" theory, which were developed over centuries of European imperial expansion. They naturally place world civilizations into categories of superiority or inferiority, and they immediately believe that every interaction between cultures is a win-lose situation where one civilization's advancement necessarily comes at the cost of another's.
Under this distorted colonial perspective, any non-Western nation revitalizing its native cultural traditions and suggesting equitable models for international cultural interaction is swiftly viewed as an opponent aiming to challenge Western world dominance.
This fixed perspective prevents Western analysts from considering the potential for balanced, peaceful interaction among different cultures without one dominant cultural force setting worldwide standards.
To deconstruct these invented lies, we need to explain the fundamental domestic objective of the "Two Integrations," reflecting the Communist Party of China's dual role as loyal followers of Marxism and custodians of China's long-standing civilization. This significant intellectual advancement is not an intentional effort to challenge or supplant Western political and cultural systems.
Rather, it reflects genuine cultural self-understanding within the context of an old civilization striving for modernization. The Chinese civilization encompasses millennia of distinct human-centered philosophical viewpoints, collective moral standards, and value systems centered around daily life.
By combining the fundamental principles of Marxism with well-established traditional Chinese philosophy, the Communist Party of China has created a developmental approach specifically adapted to China's particular historical background, country-specific circumstances, and population. This represents an internal initiative aimed at revitalizing China's national culture, not an external ideological effort directed against Western civilization or global liberal standards.
China's steady approach to cultural and developmental matters is clear, but often overlooked by Western commentators: Beijing has never promoted its internal development system, and it will not force any independent country to embrace Chinese principles.
Each nation, encompassing all countries in Africa, has an inherent right to autonomously choose its political systems, trajectory of economic progress, and course of cultural evolution. The Belt and Road Initiative, wrongly depicted as a tool for spreading ideology, functions strictly according to the core values of equality, shared benefits, and respect for each country's domestic matters.
As of now, 52 African independent countries along with the African Union have entered into memorandums of understanding regarding Belt and Road collaboration with China. Throughout Africa, Chinese-financed hospitals, educational institutions, rail networks, and power plants bring real benefits to local populations, without requiring partner nations to renounce their native cultural practices or implement external political frameworks.
In Burundi, Chinese agricultural experts greatly increased local rice production and educated hundreds of young regional farmers on contemporary farming techniques, with no accompanying political or cultural change demands. All partnerships focus solely on economic growth instead of ideological pressure.
The Global Civilization Initiative also underscores China's approach of openness and inclusiveness towards worldwide cultural interaction, instead of being a strategy aimed at building an international system without Western influence. Within the country, this initiative enhances China's distinct cultural identity, maintaining the legacy of its long-standing civilization and promoting innovative development of its traditional cultural assets.
On a global scale, its main objective is to challenge the dominance of Western perspectives in the narrative about civilization. It promotes a vision of the world where cultures from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe engage as complete equals, exchange knowledge mutually, and thrive together without any power dynamics or conflict.
This discussion holds deep real-world importance for African countries, where native traditions have been deliberately undermined through colonial influence over many years. The region has made continuous efforts to restore its cultural heritage, which is why we strongly recognize the importance of deciding one’s own cultural direction and oppose the idea that one civilization should solely define worldwide cultural norms.
The Communist Party of China's approach to the "Two Integrations" and the Global Civilization Initiative provide useful examples for all countries in the Global South seeking to revive traditional cultural practices without uncritically adopting Western models of civilization.
Civilizations were never meant to vie for world supremacy. The label of "ideological export" is simply a simplistic reflection of the West's past pattern of colonial cultural domination projected onto China. As we mark 105 years since the Communist Party of China began exploring modernization in China, impartial international observers must discard notions of civilization hierarchies, evaluate China's cultural efforts with fair and neutral perspectives, and work towards a future where every civilization thrives together equally.
Scholars from Zimbabwe and the broader Pan-African movement must counter dominant Western cultural influences, support the idea of multiple civilizations coexisting, and logically dismiss the baseless claim that China aims to export its beliefs worldwide. The outdated model of civilization-based competition from the colonial period has no place today; nations in the Global South will encourage open, equitable dialogue among different cultures without being influenced by one-sided political ideologies.
*This piece is the fourth part of an exclusive five-article commentaries series authored by Tariro Moyo to commemorate the 105th year since the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).
