The Chinese Communist Party Under Xi Jinping

Nationalist fervor, a more aggressive military posture, and curbs on free speech in China today are the hallmarks of one man: President Xi Jinping.  He came to power in 2012 with the mandate to pursue a prosperous society and national renewal, and he has made this “Chinese Dream” the end goal for all of his major policy efforts. To do this, Xi has reversed the course of Chinese politics that has occurred since the reformist Deng Xiaoping. Rather than expand consensus and transparency, Xi has sought to draw more and more power into China’s Communist Party. His rationale is that strong leadership is necessary for China to weather the existential problems it now faces.

To understand Xi Jinping, one has to look at his rise through the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party.  It was tumultuous. He weathered the exile of his father, an original revolutionary, and worked his way from provincial administrator to the most powerful man in the country. Speaking of Xi’s formative years, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd remarked that “… through his personal life, and his political life, he has experienced the best of the Party and the worst of the Party.” What remains to be seen is whether Xi’s current efforts will make the Communist Party more resilient or brittle.