Xi now most powerful leader since Mao

The Communist Party of China on Tuesday enshrined President Xi Jinping’s political doctrine and his name in its Constitution, elevating him to the level of icons Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping and making him one of the most powerful leaders in the past three decades.

The amendment also included Xi’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative in the Constitution and said the party will pursue the connectivity and trade project.

The party further clarified that the chairperson - currently Xi - of the Central Military Commission assumes overall “responsibility” of the Commission.

The amendment to the party’s charter, titled “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, was adopted at the conclusion of the 19th national congress of the party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The congress endorsed a second five-year term for Xi and appointed a new set of leaders backed by him.

Until now only “Mao Zedong Thought” and “Deng Xiaoping Theory” had been included in the charter by their names. Mao was the founder of modern China, but under Deng, the country made rapid economic progress on its way to becoming the world’s second largest economy.

“Xi Jinping Thought” has 14 principles, state media reported last week, quoting top Chinese leaders as saying that the president’s thoughts were the highlights of the national congress. The principles include “harmonious living between man and nature”, “absolute authority of the CPC over the army” and a call for “complete and deep reform”.

A Communist Party resolution said the new thought was “an important component of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a guide to action for the entire Party and all the Chinese people to strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”.

“Xi’s new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been written into the CPC charter, indicating that Xi as China’s general secretary is a great combination of party leader and national mentor,” said Hu Xingdou, a Beijing-based expert on Chinese affairs. “This shows that he is not only the party leader but also the leader of thought,” Hu added.

China under Xi has transformed from a country preoccupied by its internal concerns to one that has global interests, a global vision and... the willingness to provide public goods and underwrite risk at a global scale JONATHAN SULLIVAN, China Policy Institute, University of Nottingham