Communist Party officials and Chinese state media have organized to heap effusive praise onto President Xi Jinping over his three-hour speech to open the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Congress on Wednesday, calling the diatribe an “online sensation” and crediting Xi with saving “socialism” worldwide.
In his speech, Xi promised a fully technologically advanced military by 2050, economic supremacy over Asia, and a “new era” of Chinese history that would see Marxist colonialism—the usurpation of Chinese history and culture with white European communism—replaced by “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Communist delegates have begun the process of codifying “Xi Jinping Thought” into the CPC’s constitution.
The South China Morning Post collected some of the most dramatic remarks from CPC officials, who lent credence to experts opinion that Xi is the most powerful Chinese leader in decades.
The central leadership of the party with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core has saved the party, saved the military, and saved the country over the past five years—and in the world, saved socialism,” Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said following the speech. Tianjin CPC leader Li Hongzhong called Xi “magnificent.”
Beijing CPC leader Cai Qi said of Xi that the president had “the great plans, forward-looking vision, and firm beliefs of a Marxist politician, philosopher, theoretician, and strategist.”
Not to be left behind, the “Chinese public” (individuals selected by the state-run Global Times to praise Xi) expressed “profound admiration,” according to the newspaper.
“The congress is not only a crucial political meeting, but also sends an important signal about the social trend in the next 30 years. It matters to every person in terms of living prospects, housing and healthcare. That made it extremely attractive to the Chinese public,” the Times quoted Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management, as stating.
The Times claimed that a post praising Xi for “never making any mistakes” in his speech—and, even less believably, praising the over three-hour length of the speech—went “viral” on social media, without elaborating.
A column in the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, lauded Xi for his “latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.”
“From regaining dignity to becoming prosperous and strong, the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation does not only mean the improvement of comprehensive national strength, but also rebirth of an ancient civilization and civilized rise of values and political systems,” the article read.
The Chinese government appears to be preparing the public to accept Xi as the nation’s strongman leader for the long term. As the Agence France-Presse (AFP) noted in a report on Friday, Xi is likely to have his “Xi Jinping Thought” doctrine incorporated into the CPC constitution, alongside only two other leaders: Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Experts also expect Xi to be reelected to a second term as the head of the party, and his loyalists to rise in the ranks of the CPC. Conversely, Xi has touted his government’s extensive purges of party officials charged with “corruption,” loosely defined as behavior ranging from frivolous spending in their personal lives to any criticism of Xi Jinping.
While Deng Xiaoping thought encouraged more economic openness to expand the opportunities of the CPC abroad, “Xi Jinping” thought emphasizes Chinese nationalism and ultimately seeks hegemony. As the People’s Daily notes, Xi is attempting to reverse the clock on the replacement of traditional Chinese culture and history by the Western monstrosity of communism and the European faces behind it. “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” is the key phrase in the official name for Xi Jinping Thought, requiring China to “take center stage in the world,” according to his extensive speech.