China Reds enshrine Xi thought
The change in the Communist Party’s Constitution marks the start of the Xi Jinping era
BEIJING— China’s ruling Communist Party enshrined President Xi Jinping’s political thought into its Constitution on Tuesday, elevating him to the same level as the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong.
The party unanimously passed the amendment to include “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” as one of its guiding principles at the end of its weeklong congress.
“The Chinese people and nation have a great and bright future ahead,” Xi told party delegates as the meeting came to a close.
Chinese socialism
“At this great time, we feel more self-confident and proud. At the same time, we also deeply feel a heavy sense of responsibility,” he said.
Xi has described his concept as central to setting China on the path to becoming a “great modern socialist country” by midcentury.
This vision has at its core a ruling party that serves as the vanguard for everything from defending national security to providing moral guidance to ordinary Chinese.
No other since Mao
He’s set the target dates of 2021—the 100th anniversary of the party’s founding—and the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049—for the establishment of a prosperous, modern society.
No other leader has had an eponymous ideology included in the document while in office since Mao Zedong Thought. Deng Xiaoping Theory was added after his death in 1997.
Xi’s more recent predeces- sors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, both had the party Constitution amended to include their guiding thoughts, but without their names directly attached.
Jiang had his “Three Repre- sents” embracing private entrepreneurs written in, while Hu, Xi’s immediate predecessor, had his economic doctrine of “scientific development” included.
The concept Xi has touted is seen as marking a break from the stage of economic reform ushered in by Deng in the late 1970s and continued under his successors Jiang and Hu.
All in five years
Xi has rapidly consolidated power since assuming party leadership in late 2012 and then the presidency the next year.
The party gave Xi the title of “core” leader a year ago, a significant strengthening of his position ahead of the congress, which is held once every five years.
“In every sense, the Xi Jin- ping era has begun in earnest,” said Zhang Lifan, an independent political commentator in Beijing.
A new dynasty
“Only Mao’s name was enshrined in the party ideology while he was still alive. We’re opening something that hasn’t been broached before,” Zhang said.
For centuries, Chinese emperors were accorded ritual names that signaled either they were successors in a dynastic line or the founder of an entirely new dynasty. What Xi accomplished this week was a modern equivalent of the latter, Zhang said.
“He wants to join that pantheon of leaders,” Zhang said.—