Lessons of the Long March

Resilience, perseverance and a long-term vision are essential to meet the challenges the world faces today

During the commemorations marking the 90th anniversary of the Long March (1934-36), fresh perspectives and interpretations are emerging in China and abroad. The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army completed its more than 12,500-kilometer Long March — the Communist Party of China's strategic maneuver that brought its forces to Northwest China's Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, where the Party established its revolutionary base. The troops that survived the Long March laid the foundational bedrock for the Chinese People's Liberation Army and set into motion the events leading to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

A prominent view holds that this pivotal historical event was far more than a remarkable feat of military fortitude. Rather, it is increasingly framed as a testament to strategic alertness, meticulous preparation, systemic resilience and swift responsiveness to tangible challenges — attributes that in due time laid the groundwork for the most expansive modernization project undertaken by any nation in human history, one that has had a global impact.

The 90th anniversary of the Long March has prompted a rigorous reassessment of the resilience, adaptiveness and long-term vision that underpin China's political philosophy.

Contemporary analyses increasingly evaluate how the country's overarching modernization strategy and intercontinental engagements are translated into concrete policy frameworks, encompassing not only poverty reduction and infrastructural connectivity but also investments, healthcare cooperation and environmental protection. China has demonstrated significant competence across each of these domains; the latter achievements, in particular, have become increasingly conspicuous.

The long-term vision embedded in the "Long March spirit" and its subsequent "Yan'an spirit" has been of lasting importance.

The Yangtze River, which the CPC troops crossed in the Long March, is a good example. Five years ago, China implemented a 10-year ban on fishing in the key waters of the Yangtze River basin. The fishing ban has achieved solid progress in ecological conservation. The Yangtze finless porpoises, an endangered species known as the "giant panda of the water", have been spotted more frequently in Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, highlighting the rehabilitation of the river.

Likewise, Saihanba forest farm has turned barren land into a vast sea of trees spanning thousands of hectares. Meanwhile, Zhejiang province's Green Rural Revival Program has created beautiful rural communities and benefited millions of farmers. These are examples that China is now underpinning high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.

Personal experience often serves as the catalyst for broader historical reflection. In 1988, while studying alongside an international cohort at Peking University and Beijing Language and Culture University, I received an invitation to participate in a suburban afforestation initiative near the Great Wall. This initiative is known as the Great Green Wall or, more formally, the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program. Launched in 1978, it aims to combat desertification across Northwest, North and Northeast China. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, since launching its critical-phase battle to advance the program in 2023, the central government has invested 88.9 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) and launched 544 key projects, completing more than 5.33 million hectares of ecological restoration each year. As a result, China's northern ecological shield has become more robust. Forest and grassland coverage in the program area has reached 40.76 percent, while 67.82 percent of treatable desertified land has been brought under control.

Today, the trees planted by our group of international students constitute merely an infinitesimal fraction of the billions anchored to shield Beijing from the aeolian dust displaced annually from the Gobi Desert. This spirited, long-term effort is a distant echo of the Long March, summarizing human will and offering a lesson for tackling today's interconnected global crises.

For seasoned observers of China, the profound resonance of political anniversaries is well established. The enduring legacy of the Long March continues to shape the State's contemporary narrative, providing a historical anchor for modern policy initiatives. This spiritual continuity is particularly evident as China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). Speaking at the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum's 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian in June, Premier Li Qiang referenced this new developmental phenomenon as "China Opportunity 2.0". This paradigm translates operationally into structural fortitude and sustained expansion of demand within the world's second-largest economy. By offering enhanced predictability, China can bolster multinational corporations' confidence and secure long-term capital commitments against a backdrop of heightened external volatility — a strategy supported by substantive economic fundamentals.

Over 90 years after Mao Zedong wrote of reaching the Great Wall as a symbol of determination in his poem Mount Liupan — to the Tune of Qing Ping Yue, humanity now faces its own collective tests, from climate pressures to technological disruption and geopolitical tension. In confronting them, the characteristics that define the Long March — perseverance and strategic patience — are pertinent.

At a time when global dialogue is increasingly necessary, revisiting that legacy may offer a reminder that resilience, cooperation and a long-term vision remain indispensable for the future of humanity.

The author is the director of the Dialogue with China Project and a former global expert at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.