Xi Jinping

Trips as Vice President and Mexico commentary incident

In February 2009, in his capacity as vice-president, Xi Jinping embarked on a tour of Latin America, visiting Mexico,^[54][55] Jamaica,^[56][57] Colombia,^[58][59] Venezuela,^[60][61] and Brazil^[62] to promote Chinese ties in the region and boost the country's reputation in the wake of the global financial crisis. He also visited Valletta, Malta, before returning to China.^[63][64]

On 11 February, while visiting Mexico, Xi spoke in front of a group of overseas Chinese and explained China's contributions to the financial crisis, saying that it was "the greatest contribution towards the whole of human race, made by China, to prevent its 1.3 billion people from hunger".^[65] Xi went on to remark: "There are some bored foreigners, with full stomachs, who have nothing better to do than point fingers at us. First, China doesn't export revolution; second, China doesn't export hunger and poverty; third, China doesn't come and cause you headaches. What more is there to be said?"^[66][67] The story was reported on some local television stations. The news led to a flood of discussions on Chinese internet forums. It was reported that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was caught off-guard by Xi's remarks, as the actual video was shot by some accompanying Hong Kong reporters and broadcast on Hong Kong TV, which then turned up in various internet video websites.^[68]

Xi continued his international trips, some say to burnish his foreign affairs credentials prior to taking the helm of China's leadership. In the European Union, Xi visited Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania from 7 October to 21 2009.^[69] Xi visited Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, and Myanmar on his Asian trip from 14 to 22 December 2009.^[70]

Xi visited the United States, Ireland and Turkey in February 2012. The visit included meeting with then U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House^[71] and then Vice President Joe Biden; and stops in California and Iowa, where he met with the family which previously hosted him during his 1985 tour as a Hebei provincial official.^[72]

Disappearance

A few months before his ascendancy to the party leadership, Xi Jinping disappeared from official media coverage for several weeks beginning on 1 September 2012. On 4 September, he cancelled a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and later also cancelled meetings with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and a top Russian official. It was said that Xi effectively "went on strike" in preparation for the power transition in order to install political allies in key roles.^[73] The Washington Post reported that Xi may have been injured in an altercation during a meeting of the "red second generation" which turned violent.^[74]

Accession to top posts

On 15 November 2012, Xi Jinping was elected to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission by the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, making him – informally – the paramount leader and the first one to be born in the People's Republic of China and not a preceding Chinese state. On the following day, Xi led the new line-up of the Politburo Standing Committee onto the stage in their first public appearance.^[75] The new Standing Committee decreased its number of seats from nine to seven, with only Xi himself and Li Keqiang retaining their seats from the previous Standing Committee; the remaining members were new.^[76][77][78] In a marked departure from the common practice of Chinese leaders, Xi's first speech as general secretary was plainly worded and did not include any political slogans or mention of his predecessors.^[79] Xi mentioned the aspirations of the average person, remarking, "Our people ... expect better education, more stable jobs, better income, more reliable social security, medical care of a higher standard, more comfortable living conditions, and a more beautiful environment." Xi also vowed to tackle corruption at the highest levels, alluding that it would threaten the Party's survival; he was reticent about far-reaching economic reforms.^[80]

In December 2012, Xi visited Guangdong in his first trip outside of Beijing since taking the Party leadership. The overarching theme of the trip was to call for further economic reform and a strengthened military. Xi visited the statue of Deng Xiaoping and his trip was described as following in the footsteps of Deng's own southern trip in 1992, which provided the impetus for further economic reforms in China after conservative party leaders stalled many of Deng's reforms in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. On his trip, Xi consistently alluded to his signature slogan the "Chinese Dream". "This dream can be said to be the dream of a strong nation. And for the military, it is a dream of a strong military", Xi told sailors.^[81] Xi's trip was significant in that he departed from established convention of Chinese leaders' travel routine in multiple ways. Rather than dining out, Xi and his entourage ate regular hotel buffet. He traveled in a large van with his colleagues rather than a fleet of limousines, and did not restrict traffic on the parts of the highway he traveled on.^[82]

Xi was elected President of the People's Republic of China on 14 March 2013, in a confirmation vote by the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing. He received 2,952 for, one vote against, and three abstentions.^[83] He replaced Hu Jintao, who retired after serving two terms.^[84]

In his new capacity as president, on 16 March 2013 Xi expressed support for noninterference in China–Sri Lanka relations amid a United Nations Security Council vote to condemn that country over government abuses during the Sri Lankan Civil War.^[85] On 17 March, Xi and his new ministers arranged a meeting with the chief executive of Hong Kong, CY Leung, confirming his support for Leung.^[86] Within hours of his election, Xi discussed cyber security and North Korea with U.S. President Barack Obama over the phone, who announced the visits of Treasury and State secretaries Jacob Lew and John F. Kerry to China the following week.^[87] Within a week of his assuming the Presidency, Xi embarked on a trip to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, and Republic of Congo.^[88]

Announcing reforms

In November 2013, at the conclusion of the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee, the Communist Party delivered a far-reaching reform agenda that alluded to changes in both economic and social policy. Xi signaled at the plenum that he was consolidating control of the massive internal security organization that was formerly the domain of Zhou Yongkang.^[89] A new National Security Commission was formed with Xi Jinping at its helm. The Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms – another ad-hoc policy coordination body led by Xi – was also formed to oversee the implementation of the reform agenda.

The reforms, termed "comprehensive deepening reforms" (全面深化改革; quánmiàn shēnhuà gǎigé) were said to be the most significant since Deng Xiaoping's 1992 "Southern Tour". In the economic realm, the Plenum announced that "market forces" would begin to play a "decisive" role in allocating resources.^[89] This meant that the state would gradually reduce its involvement in the distribution of capital, and restructure state-owned enterprises to allow further competition, potentially by attracting foreign and private sector players in industries that were highly regulated previously. This policy aimed to address the bloated state sector that had unduly profited from an earlier round of re-structuring by purchasing assets at below-market prices, assets which were no longer being used productively. The Plenum also resolved to abolish the laogai system of "re-education through labour" which was largely seen as a blot on China's human rights record. The system has faced significant criticism for years from domestic critics and foreign observers.^[89] The one-child policy was also abolished, resulting in a shift to a two-child policy since 1 January 2016.^[90][91]

In December 2013, Xi arrived unannounced at a small Beijing restaurant to have steamed buns for lunch, with only one person accompanying him. He paid for the meal himself and dined with regular patrons.^[92] Xi was applauded for the 'common touch' of the visit, and images were circulated widely on social media.^[92]

Anti-corruption campaign

Xi vowed to crack down on corruption almost immediately after he ascended to power at the 18th Party Congress. In his 'inaugural speech' as general secretary, Xi mentioned that fighting corruption was one of the toughest challenges for the party.^[93] A few months into his term, Xi outlined the "eight-point guide", listing out rules intended to curb corruption and waste during official party business; it aimed at stricter discipline on the conduct of party officials. Xi also vowed to root out "tigers and flies", that is, high-ranking officials and ordinary party functionaries.^[94] During the first two years of Xi's term, he initiated cases against former Central Military Commission vice-chairman Xu Caihou, former Politburo Standing Committee member and security chief Zhou Yongkang, and former Hu Jintao chief aide Ling Jihua.^[95]

Along with new disciplinary chief Wang Qishan, Xi's administration spearheaded the formation of "centrally-dispatched inspection teams" (中央巡视组), essentially cross-jurisdictional squads of officials whose main task was to gain more in-depth understanding of the operations of provincial and local party organizations, and in the process, also enforce party discipline mandated by Beijing. Many of the work teams also had the effect of identifying and initiating investigations on high-ranking officials. Over one hundred provincial-ministerial level officials were implicated during a massive nationwide anti-corruption campaign. These include former and current regional officials (Su Rong, Bai Enpei, Wan Qingliang), leading figures of state-owned enterprises and central government organs (Song Lin, Liu Tienan), and highly ranked generals in the military (Gu Junshan). In June 2014, the Shanxi provincial political establishment was decimated, with four officials dismissed within a week from the provincial party organization's top ranks. Within the first two years of the campaign alone, over 200,000 low-ranking officials received warnings, fines, and demotions.^[96]

Consolidation of power

Portrait of Xi in Beijing, September 2015

Political observers have called Xi the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, especially since the ending of presidential two-term limits in 2018.^{[97][98][99][100]} Xi has notably departed from the collective leadership practices of his post-Mao predecessors, centralising his power and creating working groups with himself at the head in order to subvert government bureacracy, making himself become the unmistakable central figure of the new administration.^[101]

Beginning in 2013, the party under Xi has created a series of new "Central Leading Groups", that is, supra-ministerial steering committees, to bypass existing institutions when making decisions, and ostensibly making policy-making a more efficient process. The most notable new body is the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, which has broad jurisdiction over economic restructuring and social reforms, said to have displaced some of the power previously held by the State Council and its Premier.^[102] Xi also became the leader of the Central Leading Group for Internet Security and Informatization, in charge of cyber-security and internet policy. The Third Plenum held in 2013 also saw the creation of the National Security Commission of the Communist Party of China, another body chaired by Xi which is believed to have ultimate oversight over issues of national security such as combating terrorism, intelligence, espionage, ultimately incorporating many areas of jurisdiction formerly vested in the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission under Zhou Yongkang.

Xi has also been active in his participation in military affairs, taking a direct hands-on approach to military reform. In addition to being the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and the leader of the Central Leading Group for Military Reform founded in 2014 to oversee comprehensive military reforms, Xi has delivered numerous high-profile pronouncements vowing to clean up malfeasance and complacency in the military, aiming to build a more effective fighting force. In addition, Xi held the "New Gutian Conference" in 2014, gathering China's top military officers, re-emphasizing the principle of "the party has absolute control over the army" first established by Mao at the 1929 Gutian Conference.^[103] According to a University of California, San Diego expert on Chinese military, Xi "has been able to take political control of the military to an extent that exceeds what Mao and Deng have done".^[104]

East Turkestan independence movement in 2015

On 21 April 2016 Xi was named "commander in chief" of the country's new Joint Operations Command Center of the People's Liberation Army by Xinhua news agency and the broadcaster China Central Television.^[105][106] Some analysts interpreted this move as an attempt to display strength and strong leadership and as being more "political than military".^[107] According to Ni Lexiong, a military affairs expert, Xi "not only controls the military but also does it in an absolute manner, and that in wartime, he is ready to command personally".^[108]

Legal reforms

The party under Xi announced a raft of legal reforms at the Fourth Plenum held in the fall 2014, and Xi called for "Chinese socialistic rule of law" immediately afterwards. The party aimed to reform the legal system which had been perceived as ineffective at delivering justice and affected by corruption, local government interference, and lack of constitutional oversight. The plenum, while emphasizing the absolute leadership of the party, also called for a greater role of the constitution on the affairs of state, and a strengthening of the role of the National People's Congress Standing Committee in interpreting the constitution.^[114] It also called for more transparency in legal proceedings, more involvement of ordinary citizens in the legislative process, and an overall "professionalization" of the legal workforce. The party also planned to institute cross-jurisdictional circuit legal tribunals as well as giving provinces consolidated administrative oversight over lower level legal resources, which is intended to have the effect of reducing local government involvement in legal proceedings.^[115]

Foreign trips as President

Xi made his first foreign trip as president to Russia on 22 March 2013, about a week after he assumed the presidency. He met with President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders discussed trade and energy issues. He then went onto Tanzania, South Africa (where he attended the BRICS summit in Durban), and the Republic of the Congo.^[116] Xi visited the United States at Sunnylands Estate in California in a 'shirtsleeves summit' with U.S. President Barack Obama in June 2013, although this was not considered a formal state visit.^[117] In October 2013 Xi attended the APEC Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Xi made a trip to Western Europe in March 2014, visiting the Netherlands, where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, followed by France, Germany, and Belgium.^[118] Xi made a state visit to South Korea on 4 July 2014 and met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.^[119] Between 14 and 23 July, Xi attended the BRICS leaders' summit in Brazil and also visited Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba.^[120]

Xi with his first lady during the Moscow Victory Day Parade on 9 May 2015

Xi went on an official state visit to India and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014; he visited New Delhi but also went to Modi's hometown in the state of Gujarat.^[121] Xi went on a state visit to Australia and met with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in November 2014,^[122] followed by a visit to the island nation of Fiji.^[123] Xi visited Pakistan in April 2015, signing a series of deals over infrastructure related to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, before heading to Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia, to attend the Afro-Asian Leaders Summit and the 60th Anniversary events of the Bandung Conference.^[124] Xi visited Russia and was the guest-of-honour of Russian president Vladimir Putin at the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade to mark the 70th Anniversary of the victory of the allies in Europe. At the parade Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan sat next to Putin. On the same trip Xi also visited Kazakhstan and met with that country's president Nursultan Nazarbayev, and also met with Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus.^[125]

Xi, who was on a four-day state visit to the UK, addressed both Houses of Parliament at Westminster, 21 October 2015

In September 2015, Xi made his first state visit to the United States.^{[126][127][128]} In October 2015, Xi made a state visit to the United Kingdom, the first by a Chinese leader for a decade.^[129] This followed a visit to China in March 2015 by the Duke of Cambridge. During the state visit, Xi met Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister David Cameron and other dignitaries. Increased customs, trade and research collaborations between China and the UK were discussed, but more informal events also took place including a visit to Manchester City's football academy.^[130]

In March 2016, Xi visited the Czech Republic on his way to United States of America. In Prague, he met with the Czech president, prime minister and other representatives, to promote relations and economic cooperation between the Czech Republic and the People's Republic of China.^[131] His visit was met by a considerable number of protests by Czech people.^[132]

World leaders assemble for 'family photo' at G20 summit in Hamburg

In January 2017, Xi became the first Chinese President to plan to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.^[133] On January 17, Xi addressed the forum in a high-profile keynote, addressing globalization, the global trade agenda, and China's rising place in the world's economy and international governance; he made a series of pledges about China's defense of "economic globalization" and climate change accords.^[134][135] Premier Li Keqiang attended the forum in 2015 and Vice-President Li Yuanchao did so in 2016. During the three day state visit to the country in 2017 Xi also visited the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee.^[135]

Cultural revival

As Communist ideology plays a less central role in the lives of the masses in the People's Republic of China, top political leaders of the Communist Party of China such as Xi Jinping continue the rehabilitation of ancient Chinese philosophical figures like Han Fei into the mainstream of Chinese thought alongside Confucianism, both of which Xi sees as relevant. "He who rules by virtue is like the Pole Star," he said at a meeting of officials last year, quoting Confucius. "It maintains its place, and the multitude of stars pay homage." In Shandong, the Birthplace of Confucius, he told scholars that while the West was suffering a "crisis of confidence," the Communist Party had been "the loyal inheritor and promoter of China's outstanding traditional culture."^[136]

Han Fei gained new prominence with favourable citations. One sentence of Han Fei's that Xi quoted appeared thousands of times in official Chinese media at the local, provincial, and national levels.^[137]

Removal of term limits

In March 2018, the party-controlled National People's Congress passed a set of constitutional amendments including removal of term limits for the President and Vice President, the creation of a National Supervisory Commission, as well as enhancing the central role of the Communist Party.^[138][139] On 17 March 2018, Xi was reappointed by the Chinese legislature as President, now without term limits, with Wang Qishan appointed as the Vice President.^[140][141] The following day Li Keqiang was reappointed Premier and longtime allies of Xi Xu Qiliang and Zhang Youxia were voted in as vice-chairmen of state military commission.^[142] Foreign minister Wang Yi was also promoted to state councillor and General Wei Fenghe was named defence minister.^[143]

According to the British Financial Times, Xi Jinping expressed his views of constitutional amendment at meetings with Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries. Xi explained the decision in terms of needing to align two more powerful posts — General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) which are no term limits.^[144] However, Xi did not say whether he intended to serve as party general secretary, CMC chairman and state president, for three or more terms.

Chinese Dream

According to the Qiushi, the Chinese Dream is about Chinese prosperity, collective effort, socialism, and national glory.

Xi and Communist Party ideologues coined the phrase "Chinese Dream" to describe his overarching plans for China as its leader. Since 2013, the phrase has emerged as the distinctive quasi-official ideology of the party leadership under Xi Jinping, much as the "Scientific Outlook on Development" was for Hu Jintao and the "Three Represents" was for Jiang Zemin. The origin of the term "Chinese Dream" is unclear. While the phrase has been used previously by journalists and scholars,^[145] some publications have posited that the term likely drew its inspiration from the concept of the American Dream.^[146] The Economist noted the abstract and seemingly accessible nature of the concept with no specific overarching policy stipulations may be a deliberate departure from the jargon-heavy ideologies of his predecessors.^[147]

While the Chinese Dream was originally interpreted as an extension of the American Dream, which emphasizes individual self-improvement and opportunity,^[147] the slogan's use in official settings since 2013 has taken on a noticeably more nationalistic character, with official pronouncements of the "Dream" being consistently linked with the phrase "great revival of the Chinese nation".^[148] The policy implications of the "Chinese Dream" remain unclear.

Xi first used the phrase during a high-profile visit to the National Museum of China on 29 November 2012, where Xi and his Standing Committee colleagues were attending a "national revival" exhibition. Since then, the phrase has become the signature political slogan of the Xi era.^[149]

Xi Jinping Thought

In September 2017, the Communist Party Central Committee had decided that Xi's political philosophies, generally referred to as "Xi Jinping Thought" by western media, would become part of the Party Constitution.^[150][151]

Xi first made mention of the "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" in the opening day speech delivered to the 19th Party Congress in October 2017. His Politburo Standing Committee colleagues, in their own reviews of Xi's keynote address at the Congress, prepended the name "Xi Jinping" in front of "Thought".^[152]

Xi himself has described the Thought as part of the broad framework created around Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, a Dengist term that places China in the "primary stage of socialism". In official party documentation and pronouncements by Xi's colleagues, the Thought is said to be a continuation of Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the "Three Represents", and the Scientific Development Perspective, as part of a series of guiding ideologies that embody "Marxism adopted to Chinese conditions" and contemporary considerations.^[152]

On 24 October 2017, at its closing session, the 19th Party Congress approved the incorporation of Xi Jinping Thought into the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.^[153][97]

The concepts and context behind Xi Jinping Thought are elaborated in Xi Jinping's The Governance of China book series, published by the Foreign Languages Press for an international audience. Volume one was published in September 2014, followed by volume two in November 2017.^[154]

Foreign policy

Xi giving a speech at the U.S. Department of State in 2012, with then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then Vice-President Joe Biden in the background. Seated in the front row is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Xi has reportedly taken a hard line on security issues as well as foreign affairs, projecting a more nationalistic and assertive China on the world stage.^[12] Xi's political program calls for a China more united and confident of its own value system and political structure.^[155]

Under Xi China has also taken a more critical stance on North Korea, while improving relationships with South Korea.^[156] China-Japan relations have soured under Xi's administration; the most thorny issue between the two countries remains the dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. In response to Japan's continued robust stance on the issue, China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone in November 2013.^[157]

Xi has called China–United States relations in the contemporary world a "new type of great-power relations", a phrase the Obama administration had been reluctant to embrace.^[158] Under his administration the Strategic and Economic Dialogue that began under Hu Jintao has continued. On China-U.S. relations, Xi said, "If [China and the United States] are in confrontation, it would surely spell disaster for both countries".^[159] Xi met with President Obama privately at the Sunnylands ranch in California in 2013 in what became known as the "shirtsleeves summit". The U.S. has been critical of Chinese actions in the South China Sea.^[158] In 2014, Chinese hackers compromised the computer system of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management,^[160] resulting in the theft of approximately 22 million personnel records handled by the office.^[161]

Xi has cultivated stronger relations with Russia, particularly in the wake of the Ukraine crisis of 2014. Xi seems to have developed a strong personal relationship with President Vladimir Putin, both of whom are viewed as strong leaders with a nationalist orientation who are not afraid to assert themselves against Western interests.^[162] Xi attended the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Under Xi, China signed a $400 billion gas deal with Russia; China has also become Russia's largest trading partner.^[162]

Xi has signaled a greater interest in Central Asia as evidenced by China's One Belt One Road initiative.^[163] Xi made the announcement while in Astana, Kazakhstan and called it a "golden opportunity".^[164]

BRICS leaders Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Dilma Rousseff, Xi and Jacob Zuma at the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, 15 November 2014

Xi has also indirectly spoken out critically on the U.S. "strategic pivot" to Asia.^[165] Addressing a regional conference in Shanghai on 21 May 2014, Xi called on Asian countries to unite and forge a way together, rather than get involved with third party powers, seen as a reference to the United States. "Matters in Asia ultimately must be taken care of by Asians. Asia's problems ultimately must be resolved by Asians and Asia's security ultimately must be protected by Asians", he told the conference.^[166]

In November 2014, in a major policy address, Xi has called for a decrease in the use of force, preferring dialogue and consultation to solve the current issues plaguing the relationship between China and its South East Asian neighbors.^[167] In April 2015 Xi led a large delegation on a state visit to Pakistan. During his visit he signed energy and infrastructure deals worth $45 billion including the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan's highest civilian award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, was also conferred upon him.^[168]

Xi with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 23 January 2016

In April 2015, new satellite imagery revealed that China was rapidly constructing an airfield on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.^[169] In May 2015, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter warned the government of Xi Jinping to halt its rapid island-building in disputed territory in the South China Sea.^[170]

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in China, 8 November 2017

In spite of what seemed to be a tumultuous start of Xi Jinping's leadership vis-à-vis the United-States, on 13 May 2017 Xi said at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing: “We should foster a new type of international relations featuring 'win-win cooperation', and we should forge a partnership of dialogue with no confrontation, and a partnership of friendship rather than alliance. All countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity; respect each other's development path and its social systems, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns... ...What we hope to create is a big family of harmonious coexistence.”^[171]

Role of the Communist Party

Early on in his term, Xi repeatedly issued pronouncements on the supremacy of the Communist Party, largely echoing Deng Xiaoping's line that effective economic reform can only take place within the one-party political framework. In Xi's view, the Communist Party is the legitimate, constitutionally-sanctioned ruling party of China, and that the party derives this legitimacy through advancing the Mao-style "Mass Line Campaign"; that is the party represents the interests of the overwhelming majority of ordinary people. In this vein, Xi called for officials to practise mild self-criticism in order to appear less corrupt and more popular among the people.^{[172][173][174]}

Xi's position has been described as preferring highly centralized political power as a means to direct large-scale economic restructuring.^[175] Xi believes that China should be 'following its own path' and that a strong authoritarian government is an integral part of the "China model", operating on a "core socialist value system", which has been interpreted as China's alternative to Western values. However, Xi and his colleagues acknowledge the challenges to the legitimacy of Communist rule, particularly corruption by party officials. The answer, according to Xi's programme, is two-fold: strengthen the party from within, by streamlining strict party discipline and initiating a large anti-corruption campaign to remove unsavoury elements from within the party, and re-instituting the Mass Line Campaign externally to make party officials better understand and serve the needs of ordinary people. Xi believes that just as the party must be at the apex of political control of the state, the party's central authorities (i.e., the Politburo, PSC, or himself as general secretary) must exercise full and direct political control of all party activities.^[176]

Xi's policies have been characterized as "economically liberal but politically conservative" by Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution.^[156]

Censorship

The "Document No. 9" is a confidential internal document widely circulated within the Communist Party of China in 2013 by the party's General Office.^[177][178] The document was first published in July 2012.^[179] The document warns of seven dangerous Western values: constitutional democracy, universal values of human rights, civil society, pro-market neo-liberalism, media independence, historical nihilism (criticisms of past errors) and questioning the nature of Chinese style socialism.^[180] Coverage of these topics in educational materials is forbidden.^[181] The release of this internal document, which has introduced new topics that were previously not "off-limits", was seen as Xi's recognition of the "sacrosanct" nature of Communist Party rule over China.^[180]

Since Xi Jinping became the General Secretary of the CPC censorship has been "significantly stepped up".^[182] Chairing the 2018 China Cyberspace Governance Conference on 20 and 21 April 2018, Xi committed to "fiercely crack down on criminal offenses including hacking, telecom fraud, and violation of citizens' privacy."^[183] His administration has also overseen more internet restrictions imposed in China, and is described as being "stricter across the board" on speech than previous administrations.^[184] Xi's term has resulted in a further suppression of dissent from civil society. Xi's term has seen the arrest and imprisonment of activists such as Xu Zhiyong, as well as numerous others who identified with the New Citizens' Movement. Prominent legal activist Pu Zhiqiang of the Weiquan movement was also arrested and detained.^[185] The situation for users of Weibo has been described as a change from fearing that individual posts would be deleted, or at worst one's account, to fear of arrest.^[186] A law enacted in September 2013 authorized a three-year prison term for bloggers who shared more than 500 times any content considered "defamatory".^[187] A group of influential bloggers were summoned by the State Internet Information Department to a seminar instructing them to avoid writing about politics, the Communist Party, or making statements contradicting official narratives. Many bloggers stopped writing about controversial topics, and Weibo went into decline, with much of its readership shifting to WeChat users speaking to very limited social circles.^[187]

In July 2017, the character Winnie-the-Pooh was blocked on Chinese social media sites because bloggers had been comparing the plump bear to China's leader Xi Jinping.^[188] This followed an incident where Chinese authorities censored a 9-year-old for comments about Xi's weight.^[189]

Taiwan

In the 19th Party Congress held in 2017, Xi reaffirmed six out of the nine principles that had been affirmed continuously since the 16th Party Congress in 2002, with the notable exception of "Placing hopes on the Taiwan people as a force to help bring about unification".^[190] According to the Brookings Institution, Xi used stronger language on potential Taiwan independence than his predecessors towards previous DPP governments in Taiwan.^[190] In March 2018, Xi said that Taiwan would face the "punishment of history".^[191]