The Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping is viewed more favorably by China’s youth than any previous regime in the country’s recent history. Yet there is no guarantee that Beijing will be able to meet their increasingly material expectations. If it cannot continue to grow economic opportunities, the Party will have to change how it justifies its rule to its people – a tall order.
President Xi has captured the imagination of people both inside and outside of China. By addressing one of the top complaints of China’s citizenry—corruption—and portraying himself as a man of the people, Xi stands out among recent Chinese leaders, who for the most part turned a blind eye towards corruption.
The Party has also retooled its propaganda machine to be more “hip,” presumably to connect with younger Chinese. Efforts include a campaign to give President Xi the nickname “Xi Dada” or Uncle Xi. Although the move was mocked by some netizens, it remains clear that Xi enjoys a level of popularity not seen by past leaders. If anyone keeps the President up at night, it is the political factions that have become targets of his anti-corruption campaign, not China’s youth.
The reason is because younger Chinese generations are not particularly political. This has much to do with China’s education system and the fact that parents tend to discourage discussion on controversial political matters. When I studied abroad in China, I wrote a report on China-North Korea ties, a sensitive topic, based primarily on interviews. One of my subjects was supposed to be my host family brother, but before I could interview him, his father pulled me aside and told me to ask him the questions instead.
Despite their general lack of interest in politics, young Chinese do care about issues related to their livelihoods, and it is from this that dissent can rise. But here too we see evidence that President Xi is sensitive to their concerns, standing up to the vested interests and pushing to address inefficiencies in the system. Xi’s reform agenda may be proceeding at a frustratingly slow pace, but again he has come closer than previous leaders to addressing the people’s frustrations.
The slow pace of reforms and a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression do beg the question, however, of whether the Party under Xi will be able to deliver on its economic goals. Challenges to Xi’s reform agenda are plentiful, and so firmer control of the media serves as an important insurance policy for the Party to control the narrative. Because labor unrest has grown exponentially in the last couple years, the threat of dissent is already high enough to, in the Party’s mind, justify tighter control of the media.
Indeed, protests have become easier to organize thanks to an increasingly connected society. But the President also values the role the Internet plays in making China’s economy more competitive. It is in his interest to calibrate Internet curbs so that the country can still innovate, just as it is arguably in his interest to not mess too much with the youth’s love affair with the Internet.
The Party has for ages justified its rule of China by creating economic opportunities for the Chinese people. President Xi is acutely aware of this and knows the importance of securing sustainable economic growth. One would think that his market reform agenda would keep him busy enough, but Xi is also engaged in an ambitious effort to increase China’s global clout. To date, he has arguably had more success advancing Chinese sovereignty claims in the South China Sea than market reforms. Raising the urgency of and distracting people with foreign policy matters could become a potential out for him should the economic transition stagnate.
It is highly unlikely, however, that he could make China’s citizenry suddenly forget about their material interests, particularly those same youngsters that ultimately don’t care very much about politics and have higher livelihood expectations than older generations. China’s youth certainly may support a tougher stance on the South China Sea issue but not over good jobs and the ability to buy nice things.
