Xi uses centenary to sell himself as party’s heir to Mao

As China celebrates the Communist Party’s centenary, President Xi sells himself as the party’s heir to Chairman Mao. For life.

Chinese President and Chairman of the Communist Party Xi Jinping appears on a large screen as performers dance during a mass gala marking the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party. Picture: Noel Celis/AFP

It is no coincidence that President Xi of China is the author of one third of the best quotes collated to commemorate the Communist Party’s centenary.

Although he has not even been in power for a decade, Xi has made sure that he has been credited with as many sayings as Chairman Mao, who ruled for more than 25 years.

Xi, 68, is using the anniversary, which falls on Thursday, as a platform to campaign for his third presidential term and elevate himself to the status of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Opening the celebrations at a new museum dedicated to the history of the party, Xi raised his hand before rows of the communist elite.

“I will be loyal to the party, work hard and fight for communism throughout my life,” Xi declared, and the others followed in unison. “I am ready at all times to sacrifice my all for the party and the people and I will never betray the party.”

“The accent is on preserving political stability and further consolidating the apparently unassailable authority of President Xi,” Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a US think tank, said.

A large screen showing communist leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping during an art performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China on June 28. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

In the ninth year of his presidency, Xi has amassed more powers than either of his two immediate predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, and he shows no sign of stepping down after a decade, or two five-year terms, as Hu and Jiang did.

Plan to rule for life

Instead, Xi has amended the constitution to remove the two-term limit, allowing him to rule for life. Experts believe that he plans to rule for at least another decade, well into his late seventies.

His claim to power is not unquestioned, however. Puncturing the facade of unity was Cai Xia, a former professor of the Central Party School, who called Xi a “mafia boss” and the party under his rule a “political zombie”. She went into exile in America in 2019 before she was stripped of her party membership and attacked for smearing party and state leaders.

A man holding late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong's 'Little Red Book' as he imitates Mao smoking in Shaoshan, in China's central Hunan province. Picture: Jade Gao/AFP

Wen Jiabao, a former prime minister, was censored this year after he, in a eulogy for his late mother, wrote that “China should be a country full of fairness and justice, where there will always be respect for the human heart, humanity and human nature”.

Now with the centennial celebrations Xi is promoting himself, consolidating powers and further establishing his leadership within the party.

An academic institute that specialises in China’s Communist Party history and its literature, established recently, has published 66 books by Xi on his ideology. One of Xi’s most memorable quotes, which is being repeated time and again, reads: “The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.”

The party also has published 100 of its top quotes over the last 100 years, 30 of which came from Xi

This view resonates with the Chinese people, who feel victimised by foreign invasions over the past two centuries.

Consolidating place in history

Xi, the son of a communist revolutionary, came into power in 2012, a year of political drama and the spectacular fall of his rival, Bo Xilai, also the son of a senior Communist Party official. Xi swiftly consolidated his power base by launching a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that not only removed his political challengers but also won him the public’s endorsement.

Now, as the party assesses the past 100 years, Xi is consolidating his place in history. In the party’s newly minted museum, where he made his pledge of loyalty, the history of the party is divided into four stages. The first two are about Mao, and the third is about the periods of Deng, a reformist who started the country’s economic reforms, Jiang and Hu. The fourth one is entirely devoted to Xi’s new era.

The message is clear. He is as great as Mao or Deng.

The Times