Global rise of Xi Jinping
Malladi Rama Rao
Xi Jinping becoming the
new helmsman of
China is a
development that has
been in the works for
a while, certainly from
the moment he had embarked on
ruthless action to axe the corrupt in
the party and the army. This drive
for probity has given him an edge
over his contemporaries and made
him to be counted amongst the
greats of China.
The five impressive takeaways
The 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress in session
from the 19th CPC Congress (see the
box) notwithstanding,
authoritarianism is a gift of the
proletarian dictatorship that
Communism has come to represent
over the years. This puts a question
mark over what President Xi will
come to represent over the next five
years (his second term) and the
assured third term.
There is no gain saying, however,
that for Xi the real test is not in
making the PLA a great mighty force,
which he has more or less achieved.
Nor in spreading the Chinese wings
across the seas, which also he
appears to have greatly
accomplished.
Xi's test will come from the
economy, which is causing hiccups
across the rural and urban society,
and in managing diplomacy which
finds China at cross roads. Already,
economy and diplomacy are proving
to be the soft underbelly of Xi's
Beijing, going by the bad press China is getting in Africa and Central Asia,
and even in Pakistan that is
beholden to his Communist purse
strings, and by the concerns across
Asia, particularly South-east Asia the
assertiveness of Chia is causing.
Though President Xi Jinping made
no mention of India in his record
breaking three and a half hour long
speech, New Delhi will figure high on Beijing's agenda in the days
ahead as in the days gone by.
Because, China has not stopped
blowing hot and cold even after
suffering reverses at Doklam. In
fact, there is asurge in its penchant
to take digs at and offer homilies to
India (See Box).
From the sentencing of self-styled
religious don, Gurmeet Ram Rahim
Singh, for rape to the death of 100
children at a Gorakhpur hospital,
and violent clashes in Darjeeling
hills to the dip in India's growth rate,
every headline in India has become
fodder for the Chinese thought in the run up to the party congress in a
bid to project a better image of the
Dragon before home audience and
neighbours alike.
Modinomics needs a dose of
Chinese advice is the latest refrain.
Put simply, the dull sales of Chinese
crackers during this Diwali should
not let the South Block mandarins to
believe that there will be one too many dull moments in the Sino-
Indian theatre.
The Chinese leader had invoked
the long forgotten "Panchsheel" for
peaceful co-existence, and spoke
about "enhancing relations" with
neighbours along the country's
borders. In the same breath he
made a not so nuanced remark that
demands attention. "Do not expect
us to swallow anything that
undermines our interests", he
declared in what is a calibrated
effort to camouflage his sense of
hurt thata high-profile military foray
into Doklam had ended as a zero
sum game just before winter had set
in the Himalayas.
The assertiveness in his tone
cannot be construed as a pep talk to
pep up the mood amongst the
selected and elected delegates at
the Great Hall of the People in
Beijing on 18th Oct, the first day of
the week-long party congress. It has
to be seen in the right perspective.
And the right perspective is that
President Xi is not sending a
friendship message to countries in
South China Sea in general and to
Modi's India, in particular. Reason?
The Trump administration has
begun to see New Delhi as 'reliable
partner' amid China's 'provocative
actions' that are 'posing a challenge
to the rules – based international
order' to quote Secretary of State
Tillerson.
Expectedly, the high priest of
Republican capitalism, The
Washington Post, (WP), sees the Xispeak Xispeak
through its anti-Trump prism.
"Move over, America. China now
presents itself as the model 'blazing
a new trail' for the world," Simon
Denyer reported in his despatch,
and went gaga over 'stunning
economic growth' ushered in by the
transition from communism to
state-directed capitalism. The
despatch quoted Xi-speak to declare
that China is now officially another polestar for the world with 'its
banner of socialism flying high and
proud for all to see', and that China
offers its wisdom 'to solving the
problems facing mankind'.
To be fair to the WP, its Beijingdatelined
dispatch noted, in passing
though, what constitutes the
external core of Xi Jinping mantra. It
is the demand for a tighter control
of the party over national affairs at
home, and greater say for China in
global governance. The latter part is
to be achieved by cashing-in on
China's growing financial clout that has comes its way through flagship
programmes like "One Belt-One
Road" (OBOR) across Asia and
Africa. He couched the craving in
pious platitudes. China, he said,
rejects cold war mentality and
power politics, and went on to say
that China prefers developing stateto-
state relations 'with
communication, not confrontation,
partnership, not alliance'.
Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping & Xi Jinping
As of now, as Nayan Chanda, noted journalist and foreign policy
expert, points out in his latest Times
of India column ("Enter Dragon", Oct
21, 2017), "armed with its bulging
foreign reserves and a growing list
of international friends and
supporters, China has pushed to
extend its control over influential
international organisations – from
Interpol to Internet governance. It
has interfered with increasing
brazenness in other countries'
internal affairs, drawing red-lines to
ensure their internal policies
conform to Chinese interests.
Sinologists aver that the global
rise of China under XI, who took
over the CPC reins in November
2012 (he became President in March
2013), has not resulted in greater
freedom or openness for its citizens.
It may be true going by reports in Global Times and the Internet, but
Tibetan Spiritual Leader - The Dalai Lamawhat is germane to my
reality check is the sense
of insecurity that comes
out clearly and loudly
through the Xi speech. The
plank of stability, the
image of unified
leadership, and above all
the glorification of Xi don't
mask the concerns over
factional infighting (in the
CPC), slowing of economy
and rising social tensions
at home, and the growing
US threat of trade war and
war abroad.
There are two clear
giveaways. One is the
widely covered report
under the heading - Coup
plotters foiled: Xi Jinping
fended off threat to 'save Communist Party'. The claim was attributed to Liu Shiyu, Chairman of
the China Securities Regulatory
Commission.
The second giveaway is the
warningto world leaders against
meeting Dalai Lama, who had fled
Tibet in 1959 and has been living at
Dharamshala in the Indian
Himalays. China considers as a
"major offence" if any country or
foreign leader hosts or meets the
Dalai Lama, said Zhang Yijiong,
Executive Vice Minister of the United
Front Work Department of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) on
the sidelines of party congress on
the 21st Oct.
China, Zhang stated, will not
accept the arguments of foreign
countries and leaders to meet the
82-year-old Dalai Lama as a religious
leader. "I want to make it clear that
the 14th Dalai Lama, the living
Buddha handed down by history is a
political figure under the cloak of
religion".
Fearing a threat from an
acknowledged modern day apostle
of peace? Well, it is indeed so. The
Chinese leadership still subscribes
to the old view that the Tibetan
spiritual leader is a "separatist"
trying to split Tibet from China.
In the same league is the other
giveaway that came out when Liu
Shiyu, spoke on the sidelines of the
party's congress. He "applauded"
President Xi Jinping for "saving the Communist Party" by foiling a coup
plot by former political
heavyweights. He identified the
plotters too. The list includes former
party boss of megacity Chongqing,
Sun Zhengcai. He was once a front
runner for a place in the Politburo
Standing Committee. Others were
Bo Xilai, Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua,
Xu Caihou, and Guo Boxiong; they
all had held high positions and great
power in the party.
All of them were axed quite a
while ago. One of them, Xu died two
years ago. Sun was expelled from
the party this September. At that
time the sedition charge was not
made against him. It was merely
stated that he was axed for
corruption which "seriously
endangered the party's ruling
foundation and ability to govern".
Now Liu is telling the world that "they (the axed leaders) had plotted
to usurp the party's leadership and
seize state power." Like most
Chinese leaders, he is economical
on details. Believe me if you want -
appears to be his stand. He is the
first top ranking CPC official to
accuse Sun Zhengcai of trying to
take over the party.
The venerable People's Daily has
a different take. It has been telling
its readers that the disclosure of a
plot to overthrow Xi was made late
last year by Wang Qishan, the man
widely seen as China's second most powerful man. He reportedly said:
"…..Some(cadres) even sought to ...
seize party and state power,
engaging in activities to split the
party, and seriously threatening the
nation's political stability." The
dispatch was dated Oct 31 but it
appeared on Dec 1, according to
South China Morning Post.
In recent months, Xi ruthlessly
executed the anti-corruption drive to
throw out the likes of Sung Zhengcai,
who was once regarded as a
contender for a top leadership role in
five years' time. Such purges, going by
general consensus, have been the
means Xi has used to take absolute
grip over the CPC, and People's
Liberation Army (PLA). As many as
4,885 PLA officers, a number of them
generals, had been punished for graft,
Xinhua reported in March 2017. These
days, Xi himself chairs the Central Military Commission unlike in the past
when regional commanders did the
honours.
So what is there to fear or worry for
President XI? It is a Sudoku for every
Sinologist, who may need to give a
thought to my thesis that like all
political leaders, Xi Jinping, will not
hesitate to return to nationalism as his
refuge to drive away people's
attention from the social volcano if it
becomes bust ready. The Doklam face
off was a test case for nationalism in
action. Xi-speak is no less
manifestation of that spirit.