China-EU School of Law discusses messages from the Communist Party’s Congress

2 November 2017, by Internetredaktion

Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, "Xi Jinping", CC-BY-2.0, cropped

Xi Jinping's speech at the 19th Party Congress lays out the vision for China's future.

On 24 October, a group of Chinese China-EU School of Law professors, administrative staff members and students in a meeting discussed what could be deduced from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s opening speech at the 19th Communist Party’s Congress for the Chinese legal system and for the education of the Chinese youth. They agreed that legal education may contribute to the establishment of rule of law in China.

“In his speech, Xi Jinping 55 times referred to the rule of law, which in itself already demonstrates the close attention he pays to this topic,” Compliance Officer Li Xiaolu said. Master’s student Pan Shuying stressed that she shared the impression to observe a major political, economic and social transformation of the country which included legal transformation. “People step by step are reaching a deep consensus on the rule of law”. Academic Programmes Officer Ma Anna commented that she already noticed the importance of adherence to the law in her daily routine, for instance in application and registration processes. She also stressed the law school’s international outreach. “Every year we welcome European students at the China-EU School of Law, thus I also consider myself an ambassador of the new China and the rich Chinese culture to the world.”

“Strengthening the Chinese economy remains an indispensable prerequisite of rule of law as it helps to bring stability to the people”, Chinese Co-Dean Prof. Liu Fei argued. Young people at the China-EU School of Law, however, could also contribute by “honing their legal skills and exploring the full potential of their studies, as well as broadening their horizons, improving their English skills and learning how to deal with foreign legal affairs”. Prof. Zheng Yongliu concluded that the China-EU School of Law’s legal education programmes contributed to the aim of establishing a rule of law in China. He encouraged the China-EU School of Law students to step up to their responsibility and to play an active role in global governance and legal discourse: “You can become the voice of a generation that understands both Chinese and international law.”

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened its 19th Party Congress from 18 to 27 October, Secretary General and Chinese President Xi Jinping set the political agenda for the People’s Republic of China from 2017 to 2022. Xi Jinping heralded a new global era of Chinese power. He also stressed the importance of rule of law for the country’s future. The Party Congress is regarded as the most important political event in China in the past five years.