Xi Jinping spells out new agenda for China

In his report to the National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on behalf of the 19th CPC Central Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, President Xi Jinping indicated the new steps the party and the people have to take to strengthen and modernise China. Xi Jinping’s doctrinal text, called “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, which is to be the reference point for ideological orientation, sets an interesting intellectual task for the party. The text is not promoted as Xi’s own philosophy but that of the party. Xi in his report explained what the new theoretical framework means: “The main elements of this theory are summarised in the 10 affirmations, the 14 commitments, and the 13 areas of achievement that were articulated at the 19th CPC National Congress and the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Party Central Committee, all of which we must adhere to over the long term and to continue to enrich and develop.”

Xi is expected to get an unprecedented third term as leader of the party and of the country, the first after Mao Zedong. And it his pronouncements on theoretical and practical issues that count from now onward. Xi in his report of the party had laid down, “To uphold and develop Marxism, we must integrate it with China’s specific realities.” And there is also the exhortation, “We must put people first, maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet, uphold fundamental principles, break new ground, adopt a problem-oriented approach, apply systems thinking, and maintain a global vision,” as reported in China Daily.

Xi’s new agenda for China is that of making the country strong, in terms of economic and military power. While the rest of the world, especially the West, has accepted the economic clout of China, it has now to prepare to accept the increase in China’s military power. The United States has been trying to move quickly and put in place military alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Military confrontation between the West and China has been brewing for some time, especially in South China Sea, and over the status of Taiwan. Xi in his report said, “We have set the Party’s goal of building a strong military in the new era and upheld absolute Party leadership over the people’s armed forces. With new systems, a new structure, a new configuration, and a new look, the people’s armed forces have become a much more modern and capable fighting force.”

The emphasis on modernising the Chinese army need not mean that China will use military force to take over Taiwan, which is the worst-case scenario that Western Sinologists imagine. Xi in his report emphasised the idea of One Country, Two Systems, and gave the examples of Hong Kong and Macao. It would mean that China intends to use Hong Kong and Macao as a special export zone (SEZ) as it were, and it would want to deal with Taiwan on the same principle. But Xi his report has reiterated the established China position of rejecting the concept of independent Taiwan and foreign interference.

  The most interesting aspect of Xi’s report is that Xi and his comrades are trying to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party never loses its hold on power, and what it should do to prevent the historical cycle of rise and fall. As reported in China Daily, Xi has claimed the fight against corruption in the party has taken care of a major challenge. The second task is that of “self-reform” to avoid decline and fall.

Xi’s solution: “The Party has found a second answer to the question of how to escape the historical cycle rise and fall. The answer is self-reform. We have ensured that the Party will never change its nature, its conviction, or its character.”