Xi Jinping restores the ideological imperative so as to boost his own power

President Xi Jinping has restored the ideological imperative – that all policies must be guided by a rigid interpretation of “socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era” – so as to bolster the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over Chinese politics and society. At the same time, the quasi-Maoist emphasis on ideology serves to firm up Xi’s status as the “eternal core” of the party-state apparatus. In a departure from the pragmatism and open-mindedness of the era of Deng Xiaoping, Xi arrogates to himself supreme authority in originating and fine-tuning ideology. This will ensure that the CCP will not fall for the siren songs of capitalism – and that Xi, who thinks of himself as the “Mao Zedong of the 21st century,” will have the wherewithal to impose authoritarian doctrines reminiscent of those of the Great Helmsman. This chapter also examines whether Xi-style retrogression in political reform, which militates against the open-door policy in the economic, social and foreign-policy realms, will undercut his anachronistic claims to near-absolutist, dynastic-style powers.