All Hail Chairman Xi. The most Powerful Dictator in the New World.

Image Xi Jinping — The Only Face of China

On Sunday, October 23, 2022, China concluded it’s 20^th CPC National Congress. This was a very special Congress. It was the one where President Xi Jinping secured his position as supreme ruler of China for life. China has officially become an autocracy.

It was a very exciting time. In front of cameras, the previous president to Xi, Hu Jintao was physically escorted out of the closing ceremony, and the 2^nd highest member, Premier Li Keqiang, was dropped from the leadership committee. Both men were representative of greater economic reform and movement towards an open market. Hu can also be seen as a more decentralizing influence in the CCP’s evolution.

The China we know today, began in 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party overthrew the ruling class who fled to Taiwan. Led by Chairman Mao Zedong, China went through a huge reformation based on Mao Zedong Thought. This involved rapid transformation from an agrarian pre-industrial society into a modern communist one. Mao’s policies were radical and untested and proved to be regressive in many ways, culminating in the greatest famine the world has ever known. Up to 55 million people died as a result of the famine produced by the Great Leap Forward. Mao continued to hold reign over the country until his death in 1976.

After Mao, the Party, under Deng Xiaoping, moved towards a more open society through market reform. The Party also realized the costs and misjudgments that come with indefinite one man rule, and instituted leadership term limits of 10 years. Eventually the opening of the economy did lead to corruption, with past president Hu being symbolic of it’s height. After Hu came the current leader Xi Jinping in 2012, and he’s ruled ever since having removed the 10 year leadership term rule.

Xi is a hybrid of Mao and Deng thought. He sees the potential of expansion through Socialism with Chinese Characteristics as promoted by Deng. He also embraces the vanguard idea of a supreme leader that came with Mao. A dangerous idea given the party already had lived through disastrous policies Mao had enforced during his reign.

Riding on the coattails of Deng Xiaoping’s economic policy, China has never had a lower GDP than the US since Xi became ruler. It’s share of global GDP (CNN) has grown from 11% to 18% during his tenure. America’s was 13.6%.

Some say his regressive policies towards COVID-19, private business, and unneeded infrastructure will end all China’s growth, and have written Xi off as a failure. On that front, I’m not so sure. It’s true, some of his policies are coming home to roost as he finalizes control over the party, but on the other hand he has expanded Chinese influence through expropriation of the South China Sea, and by creating a direct sphere of influence in 149 countries through the Belt and Road Initiative. He’s nationalizing, but also has a very clear vision of Chinese expansion on Chinese terms.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a trade network Xi developed much like the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a trade route to the West, whereas the Belt and Road Initiative is trade expansionism circumnavigating western ideology. Many countries who join the Initiative are vulnerable to debt crisis and have very few options to finance needed improvements. In joining, a number of these countries become indebted to China in exchange for much needed infrastructure. Rather than provide financial aid like other international bodies, China provides vulnerable countries with low interest loans which create long-term obligatory relationships. This provides China with a political and economic foot in the door. The projects themselves are often granted to Chinese firms accused of price gouging, and bringing in Chinese workers. No other country is embedding itself in the development of other nations like China. It’s a new colonialism.

Xi ‘s tightening policies will have an effect on China’s economic development. There’s no question, some of his policies are as harmful to expansion as other policies are beneficial, but it is expansion on his authoritarian terms. Those nations involved in the expansion, will experience that same authoritarian rule as the people of China; including the Uyghurs..

Xi’s vision is to rule everything. He recently succeeded within his own party, and he’s making inroads internationally with the Belt and Road Initiative. Consider what you get, when you get Xi.

As we see with the Belt and Road Initiative, he is extremely predatory. Xi will not hesitate to take advantage of those in weak positions.
Xi does not have a moral compass and is a bad actor on the world stage. He will support absolute despots. He supported and continues a relationship with the Myanmar Junta who’s soldiers committed atrocious acts of rape on women. One report was of a soldier raping a woman while hacking her crying baby with a machete. It was ruining his mood.
At home Xi has supported and implemented detention camps housing entire religious groups such as the Falun Gong and the Uyghurs. The people here are subjected to round the clock surveillance, suppression of individual thought, torture and live organ harvesting.
The population of China are not treated much better. They too are subject to the same tools of suppression and constant monitoring. The greatest thing China takes from it’s people is their independence of thought and personal development. Your very soul is taken away from you in China.
Xi is seeking total control. With the Belt and Road Initiative, and constantly harvesting individual information in countries outside of China. His end game is world domination under his authoritarian rule.

Xi and his party have argued it’s authoritarian model, which includes prosperity, as a superior alternative to democracy, and is selling this model to other nations. Unfortunately, it is a superior model if human cost is not factored in. A government reliant on a bunch of single purpose individuals and corporations for growth, prosperity, and leadership, cannot mount a defense against the concerted efforts of an entire nation, equally powerful with single focus. Especially one that has been building momentum since 1949.

There are many western nations turning towards authoritarian rule. Consider England where climate change activists are being locked in prison for up to 6 month on suspicion of infractions. Egypt, which claims to be a democracy is violating activists democratic rights by checking phones and jailing them ahead of the COP 27 conference.

Authoritarian rule is entering our democracies, and if we allow this to continue, this is where we will lose our rights and freedom. Organ harvesting, suppression of faith, internment camps with thought reprogramming, invasive surveillance. This is what comes when the public loses their democratic right to voice their opinion, and act to represent that opinion. Know what you’re getting into, when you ignore the actions of our leaders. Each of us must act.

Sights I visited while writing this post:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63225277

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-communist-party-xi-jinping-1.6626560

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/23/xi-follows-maos-footsteps-puts-himself-at-core-of-chinas-government

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/22/where-are-the-women-at-the-top-of-chinese-politics

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63339821

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/23/xi-jinping-chooses-yes-men-over-economic-growth-politburo-purge-china

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/chinas-premier-li-keqiang-dropped-leadership-shuffle-rcna53543

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping_Thought#:~:text=In%20surveying%20the%20history%20of,and%20established%20a%20New%20China.%22

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-communist-party-congress-1.6626121

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping