Xi Jinping Thought

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Xi Jinping, then a member of the CPC Politburo, in 2007. The thought is named after him

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; Pinyin: Xíjìnpíng xīn shídài zhōngguó tèsè shèhuì zhǔyì sīxiǎng) is a continuation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a new era, the 21st century.

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

Xi's views on China, Capitalism and the USSR

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."

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with capitalist nations, Xi said, "Marx and Engels' analysis of the basic contradictions in capitalist society is not outdated, nor is the historical materialist view that capitalism is bound to die out and socialism is bound to win." Xi aimed to reinforce the Marxist–Leninist view of history, stating: "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."

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 Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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 Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 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 Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a great party, was scattered, the Soviet Union, a great socialist country, disintegrated. This is a cautionary tale!

The 14 point basic policy of Xi Jinping Thought

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, followed by volume three in June 2020 and volume four in July 2022.

The 14-point basic policy of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

Xi Jinping Thought consists of a 14-point basic policy as follows:

1. Ensuring Communist Party of China leadership over all forms of work in China.
2. The Communist Party of China 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 the Rule of Law.
7. "Practise socialist core values", including Marxism-Leninism 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 Communist Party of China 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 principle and 1992 Consensus for Taiwan.
13. Establish a common destiny between the Chinese people and other peoples around the world with a "peaceful international environment".
14. Improve party discipline in the Communist Party of China.

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".

Xi's two political slogans

Just after becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in late 2012, Xi announced a political slogan that would become the hallmark of his administration. "The Chinese Dream," he said, is "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Formulated by Wang Huning, Xi's dream of the two slogans are best described as achieving the Two Centenaries: the material goal of China becoming a "moderately well-off society" by 2021, the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and the modernization goal of China becoming a fully developed nation by about 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.

The Four Comprehensives

The Four Comprehensives, or the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy (Chinese: 四个全面战略布局) is a list of political goals for China, put forward by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2014. They are:

1. Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society
2. Comprehensively deepen reform
3. Comprehensively govern the nation according to law
4. Comprehensively strictly govern the Party.

The Two Establishes and the Two Safeguards

Two Establishes (Chinese: 两个确立; Pinyin: Liǎng gè quèlì ) and Two Safeguards (Chinese: 两个维护; Pinyin: Liǎng gè wéihù) are two political slogans promoted by the CPC to reinforce Comrade Xi Jinping's tenure. According to the CPC historical resolution, the Two Establishes are:

1. "To establish the status of Comrade Xi Jinping as the core of the Party’s Central Committee and of the whole Party"
2. "To establish the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era"

According to the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, the Two Safeguards are:

1. "Safeguard the 'core' status of General Secretary Xi Jinping within the CPC"
2. "To safeguard the centralized authority of the Party"

During the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the Two Safeguards was added to the CPC Constitution.

The 8 Musts

The Eight Musts (Chinese: 八个必须; Pinyin: Bā gè bìxū) are a policy set by the General Secretary Xi Jinping administration regarding the role of the Communist Party of China in Chinese society.

The Eight Musts are:

• We must persist in the dominant role of the people
• We must persist in liberating and developing social productive forces
• We must persist in moving reform and opening-up forward
• We must persist in safeguarding social fairness and justice
• We must persist in marching the path of being well-to-do together
• We must persist in stimulating social harmony
• We must persist in peaceful development
• We must persist in the leadership of the Party

The Two Centenaries

The Two Centenaries (Chinese: 两个一百年; Pinyin: Liǎng gè yībǎi nián) is a political slogan that refers to two 100-year anniversaries and a stated set of economic and political goals advanced by General Secretary Xi Jinping following the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in 2012. The Chinese government describes the Two Centenaries as the basic foundation for achieving the "Chinese Dream".

The "centenaries" refer to two 100-year anniversaries:

1. The centenary of the founding of the CPC in 1921. According to official CPC discourse, a Xiaokang society will have been achieved at the conclusion of this centenary. This goal has been achieved.
2. The centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2049, at which point, China will have become a "strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and modern socialist country".

Chinese Dream

The Chinese Dream (simplified Chinese: 中国梦; traditional Chinese: 中國夢; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mèng) is a term closely associated with Xi Jinping which conveys the aspirations of China to rejuvenate itself and become a moderately prosperous society. Xi began promoting the phrase as a slogan during a high-profile tour of an exhibit at the National Museum of China in November 2012, shortly after he became leader of the CPC.

According to an opinion piece by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, published by China's state-controlled newspaper China Daily, the Chinese Dream has four parts: "strong China", "civilized China", "harmonious China", and "beautiful China". Kuhn states, "the Chinese dream is described as achieving the 'Two 100s'", a concept promoted by Xi Jinping, adding, "The material goal of China becoming a 'moderately well-off society' by about 2020" and "The modernization goal of China becoming a fully developed nation by about 2050"

Circulation of Xi Jinping Thought

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.

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

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. Academics such as Jiang Shigong went on to write expositions of Xi Jinping Thought. In December 2019, Fudan University added content concerning the inculcation of teachers and students in Xi Jinping Thought into its charter.

In mid-2021, the Ministry of Education announced that Xi Jinping Thought would be taught to Chinese students beginning at the primary school level.