Xi Jinping’s China on the way to the 20th Party Congress, Part 3 with Johnny Erling

With our event series, we follow China's preparations for the 20th Party Congress at the end of 2022 in a selected circle of important MERICS stakeholders. On February 25, we shed light on the power structures that party leader Xi Jinping has built up for himself and on which his rule is based.

Xi has been party, state and army leader in personal union since 2013. By amending the party statutes (2017) and the constitution (2018), Xi was able to abolish the time limit according to which he may only be reelected twice as president. But to rule absolutely and indefinitely, he has elevated his "Xi Jinping Thought" to state ideology. Now he is going about institutionalizing it. In order for him to gain further control, numerous study centers for "Xi Jinping Thought" have been established in China's ministries. A research institute for Xi's economic thinking also opened on January 18.

What Xi lacks now is an honorary title like Mao had as "Great Helmsman." The People's Daily just called Xi "Supreme Leader of Great Power China." In this way, he follows in the footsteps of Deng, who had absolute authority under his title "Supreme Leader" until the end of his life.

In doing so, Xi sets himself apart from Deng in a striking way. While Xi is making headlines these days in China as the host of the Winter Olympics and by standing shoulder to shoulder with Russian President Vladimir Putin, another important event is not being officially honored: the 30th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's legendary inspection tour to the South. Deng's tour (from Jan. 18 to Feb. 20, 1992) forced the party bureaucracy, frozen in dogmatism after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, to reform its economy, politics and foreign relations, becoming the kickoff of China's economic miracle. Xi shuns memories of Deng, who at the time warned against ultra-left ideology, personality cult, dirigisme and lifelong rule.

Johnny Erling is a Senior Fellow at MERICS and analyzes Chinese Communist Party policy. Erling worked as a China correspondent for three decades, including for WELT, and is the author of numerous books.

Moderation: Bernhard Bartsch, Director External Relations, MERICS

Participation in the event was by invitation only.