‘Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era’, or in short ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ is a ‘set of policies and ideals’ narrated by Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China and the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. In a nutshell, ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional ‘national revival plan backed up by increasing military power'.
The world’s balance of power is shifting. Xi Jinping is a story of a youngster who lived in a cave and then went on to become the most powerful person in China – and arguably the most powerful person on the face of the planet. Yes, the world’s balance of power is shifting. China is a story of a country coming out of a ‘hundred years of humiliation’ (1839-1949) to become a true global power.
In October 2017, ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ was given an extremely rare honour – it was embedded into the preamble of the constitution. The only two other Chinese leaders who share such a rare honor are Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ is now a mandatory part of the university curriculum.
‘Xi Jinping Thought’ has two goals: rejuvenation of China and China’s central role in the world. ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ has two timeframes: to become a ‘moderately prosperous society’ by 2035 and to become a ‘great modern socialist society’ by 2050.
‘Xi Jinping Thought’ has 10 clauses and 14 guiding principles. Of the 10 clauses, five pertain to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), four to ‘society’ and one to Foreign Policy (that includes One Belt, One Road). The PLA, under China’s National Defense in the New Era (White Paper; July 2019), is to become a “fully modern military” by 2027 and become capable to “fight and win global wars” by 2050. On January 5, Xi Jinping, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, gave his first order to the PLA: “Be ready to act at any second’.
‘Xi Jinping Thought’ revolves around transforming China into the world’s leading economic power. ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ has two holy grails. First, to raise the standard of living within China. Second, to increase China’s influence and power around the world. Xi Jinping has a dream. The plan: ‘Xi Jinping Thought’.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) ruled over 10 percent of global land and produced 32 percent of global GDP (the US now produces 22 percent of global GDP). ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ has a new economic model designed by Wang Qishan, Liu He and Wang Yang. Under the new model, the principal driver of growth will be domestic consumption based on four elements: innovation, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and the services sector. If a country was looking for a counter-model to the ‘Western liberal democracy and capitalism’ then this is it.
Leadership is based on “inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation”. This is how Mao consolidated China (1949-1976). This is how Deng opened up and reformed China (1976-1989). And, this is Xi’s strategy to earn great power status. Pakistan has what it takes. Pakistan can do it. What Pakistan needs is a dream. What Pakistanis can produce is a plan.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad.
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