In a century of its existence, the Communist Party of China has only twice felt the need to review its historical course. The first was in 1945 when Mao Zedong was preparing to overthrow Chang Kaisek’s nationalists and establish the People’s Republic. The second came in 1981 when the country’s young strongman, Deng Xiaoping, criticized the extremes of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) for supporting market economy openings.
In the second week of November, 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proceeded to the third revision of its history, elevating the current leader of the country, Xi Jinping, to the level of his two enormous caliber predecessors. The new National Narrative to be taught in schools and reproduced by the information and entertainment industry can be summarized as follows: “Mao freed the country from humiliation and dependence by laying the foundations for socialism, Deg Xiaoping opened the path to prosperity and Xi Jinping set out to turn China into a world superpower.
Once again, comparisons with the past are used to serve the aspirations of the future. A year before the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, the plenary session of the Central Committee came to seal the position of its general secretary and President of the country, who will claim a third five-year term, something that no predecessor had imagined after the death of Mao.
In fact, the possibility of being elected President of the party remains open, restoring an institution that was abolished under Deg Xiaoping to avoid the phenomenon of concentrating excessive power in the hands of one man.
From a stronger position, China’s undisputed leader will seek to accelerate developments to achieve the Chinese Dream he announced when he took office in 2012. A China that will have doubled by 2035, its current per capita income and will rise to world power by 2050.
Internal and external reasons for the Communist Party’s election to Xi Jinping for a third consecutive term
In practice, however, the Chinese Communist Party’s choice of the current Chinese president for a third consecutive term looks more like a forced adjustment to US choices, rather than his own.
Barack Obama launched America’s military and geopolitical shift from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific area. Donald Trump has declared a trade war in China, mainly in the field of new technologies. Joe Biden, in his current term, convened the anti-Chinese Quad in Washington and formed the also anti-Chinese AUKUS Pact with Britain and Australia, and next month he is preparing to chair a Summit of the Republics against Russia and China.
The internal reasons that led the Communist Party of China to this decision are: tackling the explosive social inequalities, which have reached a point where there is an urgent need for political stability of the regime, the model of development through exports, and Foreign investment based on low wages is now considered obsolete, and the need for greater support in the huge internal market comes to the fore.
The Chinese leadership is now more confident that it can formulate a new, largely autonomous, development model based on high technology and innovation, which reinforces the country’s achievements in the critical fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and green transition.
The dangers on the road to prosperity
The country’s huge demographic problem is already putting a lot of pressure, while the liquidity crisis of the Evergrande group underlines the risk that the giant bubbles in the real estate market will burst uncontrollably, causing a crisis in China’s financial system. More generally, Xi Jinping seems to realize that a sharp rupture in close economic relations between China and the West would be disastrous for both sides, perhaps even more so for China.
This feeling is evident from the moves made by the Chinese leader in recent times. More specifically, on September 16, one day after the announcement of AUKUS, China applied for membership in the Pacific Free Trade Agreement (CPPTP), from which the United States withdrew under Donald Trump.
On November 11, at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit, the Chinese President sent a warm message urging his neighbors and partners to refrain from Cold War logic. On the same day, the agreement between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on the cooperation of the two largest polluters in the world, against climate change, was announced. All indications are that both China and the United States, after a long period of escalating tensions in their relations, are preparing to take a step back to avoid a frontal spill, which could become uncontrollable if it took on a military character due to the problem. of Taiwan.
