Xi Jinping Thought

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era, commonly abbreviated as Xi Jinping Thought,[note 1][4][5] is a set of policies and ideas derived from the writings and speeches of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. It was first officially mentioned at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, in which it was incorporated into Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party. At the First Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress on 11 March 2018, the preamble of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China was amended to mention Xi Jinping Thought.

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism
with Chinese Characteristics
for a New Era
Simplified Chinese习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想
Traditional Chinese習近平新時代中國特色社會主義思想
A billboard advertising Xi Jinping Thought in Shenzhen, Guangdong with the insignia of the Communist Party of China affixed.
China
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
China
Leadership
Leadership generations
Succession of power
National leaders
Orders of precedence
Related systems
Communist Party
History
Constitution
Organization
United Front
Ideology
Legislative
Presidency
Executive
Military
Military history
Supervision
Publicity
Cross-Strait relations
Foreign relations
Related topics
 China portal
This article is part of a series about
Xi Jinping
Policies and theories
Key events
Diplomatic activities
　

History and development

The first official mention of the term was at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party having gradually been developed since 2012, when Xi became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (China's paramount leader).[6] Some news sources have stated that Xi helped create this ideology together with his close advisor Wang Huning.[7][8] The first indications of Xi's platform had came out in a speech titled "Some Questions on Maintaining and Developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” given to the newly elected Central Committee on 5 January 2013, and was later published by Central Documents Press and the journal Qiushi.[9][10]

"Socialism with Chinese Characteristics"

Much of Xi Jinping Thought comes from Xi's 2013 speech, which focused on Marx and Mao, China's place in history, strategic competition with capitalist nations, and a plea to adhere to the goals of communism.[11]

In surveying the history of China, Xi argued it is "Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought that guided the Chinese people out of the darkness of that long night and established a New China.” And, as to the future, “the consolidation and development of the socialist system will require its own long period of history... it will require the tireless struggle of generations, up to ten generations.”[10]

On the relationship with capitalist nations, Xi said, "Marx and Engels’ analysis of the basic contradictions in capitalist society is not outdated, nor is the historical materialist view that capitalism is bound to die out and socialism is bound to win.”[10] Xi aimed to reinforce the Marxist view of history as, “The fundamental reason why some of our comrades have weak ideals and faltering beliefs is that their views lack a firm grounding in historical materialism.”[12]

Xi showed great interest in why the Soviet Union dissolved, and how to avoid that failure in China:

"Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Soviet Communist Party fall from power? An important reason was that the struggle in the field of ideology was extremely intense, completely negating the history of the Soviet Union, negating the history of the Soviet Communist Party, negating Lenin, negating Stalin, creating historical nihilism and confused thinking. Party organs at all levels had lost their functions, the military was no longer under Party leadership. In the end, the Soviet Communist Party, a great party, was scattered, the Soviet Union, a great socialist country, disintegrated. This is a cautionary tale!"[13]

The concepts behind Xi Jinping Thought were elaborated in Xi's The Governance of China book series, published by the Foreign Languages Press for an international audience. Volume one was published in September 2014, followed by volume two in November 2017.[14]

Speech at the 19th Congress

Xi first made mention of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the opening day speech delivered to the 19th Party Congress in October 2017. In reviews of Xi's keynote address at the Congress, Xi's Politburo Standing Committee (top decision-making body) colleagues prepended the description with "Xi Jinping".[15]

The 19th Congress affirmed the ideology as a guiding political and military ideology of the Chinese Communist Party[15] and approved the incorporation of the ideology into the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party.[16][17] The affirmation received unanimous support as every delegate voted to approve by raising hands when Xi asked their opinions on the Congress.[18] The incorporation made Xi the third Chinese leader after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping whose names appeared in the list of fundamental doctrines of the CCP, which raised Xi above his two most recent predecessors, former General Secretaries Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin. In his report, Xi promised to make China strong, propelling the country into a "new era".[19]

Xi has described the thought as part of the broad framework created around socialism with Chinese characteristics, a term coined by Deng Xiaoping, which places China in the "primary stage of socialism".

Content

Xi Jinping Thought consists of a 14-point basic policy as follows:[20][21]

  1. Ensuring Chinese Communist Party leadership over all forms of work in China.
  2. The Chinese Communist Party should take a people-centric approach for the public interest.
  3. The continuation of "comprehensive deepening of reforms".
  4. Adopting new science-based ideas for "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development".
  5. Following "socialism with Chinese characteristics" with "people as the masters of the country".
  6. Governing China with Rule of Law.
  7. "Practice socialist core values", including Marxism, communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
  8. "Improving people's livelihood and well-being is the primary goal of development".
  9. Coexist well with nature with "energy conservation and environmental protection" policies and "contribute to global ecological safety".
  10. Strengthen the National security of China.
  11. The Chinese Communist Party should have "absolute leadership over" China's People's Liberation Army.
  12. Promoting the one country, two systems system for Hong Kong and Macau with a future of "complete national reunification" and to follow the One-China policy and 1992 Consensus for Taiwan.
  13. Establish a common destiny between Chinese people and other people around the world with a "peaceful international environment".
  14. Improve party discipline in the Chinese Communist Party.

Influence and reception

In subsequent official party documentation and pronouncements by Xi's colleagues, the thought has been said to be a continuation of Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, "the important thought of the Three Represents" and the Scientific Outlook on Development as part of a series of guiding ideologies that embody "Marxism adapted to Chinese conditions".[15]

Circulating the ideas of Xi Jinping Thought began shortly after the 2017 speech, particularly to academic and cultural communities, as well as the wider Chinese public.

By the end of 2017, dozens of Chinese universities had established research institutes for Xi Jinping Thought, applying Xi's stated principle of bringing the thought into all aspects of daily life.[22] Academics such as Jiang Shigong went on to write expositions of Xi Jinping Thought.[23] In December 2019, Fudan University added content concerning the inculcation of teachers and students in Xi Jinping Thought into its charter, leading to protests about academic freedom among the students.[24][25]

Finding cultural expressions for Xi Jinping Thought has also been a priority. On 27 November, more than 100 of China's top filmmakers, actors and pop stars were gathered for a day in Hangzhou to study the report of the 19th Party Congress featuring Xi Jinping Thought.[26]

Content from Xi's 2017 speech is used in public messages, described as being 'pervasive' by a Beijing correspondent for the New York Times.[27] A poster featuring the slogan "Chinese Dream" comes from the speech, where the phrase is used 31 times.[28][29] In July 2018, the carriages of a train in Changchun Metro were decked out in red and dozens of Xi's quotes to celebrate the 97th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party. The train was described as a "highly condensed spiritual manual" of Xi Jinping Thought by the local government.[30] In January 2019, Alibaba Group released an app called Xuexi Qiangguo about studying Xi Jinping Thought.[31]

See also

Notes
  1. Also known as Xi Thought[1][2] or Xism.[3]

References
  1. "China's Netizens Push Back on 'Xi Thought'". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. 江巍. "Courseware on Xi thought launched - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. "'Four Comprehensives' pillars of Xism". Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. Phillips, Tom (27 October 2017). "Xi Jinping Thought to be taught in China's universities". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. Buckley, Chris (24 October 2017). "China Enshrines 'Xi Jinping Thought,' Elevating Leader to Mao-Like Status". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. "China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles". The New York Times. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Mr. Xi's most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China's one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.
  7. Perlez, Jane (13 November 2017). "Behind the Scenes, Communist Strategist Presses China's Rise". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. "The meaning of the man behind China's ideology, The meaning of the man behind China's ideology". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  9. "30 Years After Tiananmen: Memory in the Era of Xi Jinping". Journal of Democracy. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. Greer, Tanner. "Xi Jinping in Translation: China's Guiding Ideology | Palladium Magazine". Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  11. Greer, Tanner. "Xi Jinping in Translation: China's Guiding Ideology | Palladium Magazine". Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  12. Roa, Carlos (4 June 2019). "On the Anniversary of Tiananmen Square, What Is Xi Jinping Thinking?". The National Interest. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  13. "30 Years After Tiananmen: Memory in the Era of Xi Jinping". Journal of Democracy. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  14. "Second volume of Xi's book on governance published". news.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  15. Zhang, Ling (18 October 2017). "CPC creates Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  16. Phillips, Tom (24 October 2017). "Xi Jinping becomes most powerful leader since Mao with China's change to constitution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  17. "Xi presents new CPC central leadership, roadmap for next 5 years". Xinhua. 24 October 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  18. "Xi Jinping asks party congress if anyone opposes...Xi Jinping". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  19. Buckley, Chris (24 October 2017). "China Enshrines 'Xi Jinping Thought,' Elevating Leader to Mao-Like Status". New York Times.
  20. "19th Party Congress: Xi Jinping outlines new thought on socialism with Chinese traits". Straits Times. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  21. "His own words: The 14 principles of 'Xi Jinping Thought'". BBC Monitoring. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  22. "Chinese universities start 'Xi Thought' institutes". AFP. 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.
  23. Backer, Larry Catá (June 2018). "Reflections on Jiang Shigong on 'Philosophy and History: Interpreting the "Xi Jinping Era" through Xi's Report to the Nineteenth National Congress of the CCP'" (PDF). Working Papers. Coalition for Peace and Ethics. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  24. "Students protest at Shanghai's Fudan University". Asia Times. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019. A video circulating this week showed students at Shanghai’s Fudan University singing the school song – which extols “academic independence and freedom of thought” – in an apparent protest.{...}Besides removing “freedom of thought,” the ministry adds to the charter “arming the minds of teachers and students with Xi Jinping’s new era of socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics.” It also obliges faculty and students to adhere to “core socialist values” and build a “harmonious” campus environment – a code phrase for the elimination of anti-government sentiment.
  25. "Archived copy" 復旦大學章程刪除思想自由 學生唱校歌抗議要求學術獨立[影]. Central News Agency (in Chinese). 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. "China sends its top actors and directors back to socialism school". The Washington Post. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017.
  27. Hernández, Javier C. (28 January 2018). "The Propaganda I See on My Morning Commute (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  28. Fewsmith, Joseph. "Xi Jinping's Fast Start" (PDF). China Leadership Monitor. 41 – via https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/CLM41JF.pdf.
  29. "Full text of Xi Jinping's report at 19th CPC National Congress - China - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  30. Gan, Nectar (3 July 2018). "All aboard the propaganda express for Xi Jinping's 'New Era'". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  31. "China's hottest app is all about making users study Xi Jinping Thought". shanghaiist. 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
Library resources about
Xi Jinping Thought
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.