China View: Is China Still Communist?
President Xi Jinping - Wang Ye/Xinhua via Getty
It is common knowledge that the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as the world recognizes it today, was proclaimed the first day of October 1949 under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Former Chairman of the CCP and paramount leader of China, Mao Zedong (or Mao Tse Tung), is still considered among the most powerful figures of the 20th century. Chairman Mao is also viewed as the founding father of Communism in China, due to its revolutionary involvement in the overthrow of the Qing Empire and the Nationalist Party, the Guomindang (GMD in pinyin/ KMT in Wade-Giles transliteration).
To jump back in history for a second, it is useful to remind that the Qing was the last dynasty surviving in China, heavily weakened by colonial interventions post-Opium Wars and by revolutionaries rebelling to their county or provincial lords (this is also known as the Warlord Era). The major driver of this rebellion was the Guomindang, founded by Sun Yat-sen (Sun Wen in pinyin), left then in the hands of Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi in pinyin). Because of the extensive power taken on by these GMD leaders over time, the discontent of the population of China, tired of having to deal with poverty, inequality, and wars (especially with Japan), began to show support for the emerging Chinese Communist Party. The civil war between the GMD and the CCP lasting 1945-49 was won by the latter, forcing the GMD to flee to Taiwan, establishing what some countries recognize today as the Republic of China (ROC).
Hold on… What is “pinyin” and what is “Wade-Giles”?
These are two transliteration methods of pivotal importance when it comes to turning the pronunciation of Chinese characters into the conventional Latin alphabet. Pinyin is a method mainly used when learning Mandarin Chinese, therefore relevant to China Mainland. Hence, Mao is often referred to as Mao Zedong rather than Mao Tse-Tung, which instead is Wade-Giles. In China, pinyin is simply considered easier for learners.
On the other hand, one would not imagine calling Chiang Kai-Shek his pinyin name of Jiang Jieshi. This is because, in Taiwan, where Chiang Kai-Shek eventually fled, the Wade-Giles transliteration is often preferred to pinyin, mainly due to the desire to distinguish from the Mainland. In fact, people pronounce the Taiwanese capital “Taipei,” rather than its original pinyin version “Taibei.”
Celebrating their 70th-anniversary last year, on October 1st, 2019, the CCP appeared stronger than ever. Alternating fiercer to less influential leader figures throughout its modern history, the current President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, is likely to be considered the most powerful successor of Mao Zedong. While other leaders such as Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao were important for the creation of the world’s top second economic giant that is the PRC today, the power of Xi Jinping goes beyond the leadership of his closest predecessors. “President for Life” Xi has, since 2012, worked to create a safe economic environment for 1.4 billion people, keeping the economy up to make comfortable space for a growing middle class.
Foreign media has often criticized his decisions, including the permanency of his role, the mechanisms used to control the internet, and the firm persistence of the military on the territory, both in physical presence and through cameras. However, all these suspicions may be biased because, while it is true that life in China is not utopian and Chinese can struggle like anyone else, foreign media may have a habit of red-flagging Chinese politics due to the core comparisons emphasized with their domestic politics. For instance, public opinion in European democracies may be against the collection of individuals’ fingerprints to monitor society, whereas this may be a normal measure in China, where people may have more congenial views on the role of authorities in their life.
In modern China, there exist an interesting dichotomy between the speed socio-economic development is moving at and the seemingly unchanged political structure. The People’s Republic of China is identified by experts as a socialist marketized economy, that changed incredibly from its communist stage in 1949. However, most of the literature does, in fact, refer to the progress made by society and the economy but lacks presenting similar arguments on what happened to politics. Is China still Communist?
It is unthinkable to state that the CCP under Mao and Xi has remained unaffected by internal and external challenges over time. Since Mao’s adoption of Marxist theories, it has been a concern to “localize Marxism for China,” later given the name “Maoism” due to pivotal differences with Marxist former thoughts. The pillars of the original Communist Manifesto concerning the resolution to the class struggle, the wealth gap generated by the exploitation of the many by the few and the absence of private ownership in favor of a state-run sector were all values cherished in the Maoist society, but Mao’s single-party rule imposed a harsh authoritarian structure which eventually deviated from Marxism. Mao was effectively the ruler and he extended this solo until the day he died.
While the Party has chosen to continue this authoritarian legacy, however, modern China could never be in the hands of an absolute ruler. Xi Jinping is often compared to Mao Zedong due to the Personality Cult that is inevitably building around his persona, but the modern structure of China is way too complicated for Xi to achieve successes without the rest of the Party members or without local governments taking responsibility for designated areas in China.
As shown by BBC Asia, the political decision-making process is now more complex than it was before. The pyramid structure did not change much over time, however, it is true that now - like in a puzzle - each piece cannot be complete without the other. The Central Government could not be as successful without the help of Local Governments, and the other way around. In fact, modern China can at times resemble more of a feudal structure than simply authoritarian.
Xi Jinping’s “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” is therefore different from “Maoism” and addresses a society that has certainly matured since the 1950s. As Party Committee member Xie Chuntao states in an interview with state-controlled CGTN, the former challenges of Mao’s Party were connected to the basic needs lacking in Chinese society, including food, housing, and clothing, whereas now China must deal with rather post-modern and materialistic values, because the majority of the Chinese population can finally afford good living standards. In this sense, the mission of the CCP keeps changing together with social progress, but core values do remain similar.
The “12 Core Socialist Values” constitute the basic guidelines respected by the Chinese system regardless of change: these are the national values (“prosperity”, “democracy”, “civility”, and “harmony”); the social values (“freedom”; “equality”, “justice”, and “rule of law”); and the individual values (“patriotism”, “dedication”, “integrity”, and “friendship”). All have a CCP personalized interpretation of these concepts. “Democracy,” for instance, is not intended as a system of governance, but rather refers to the behavior of society to build a nation by the people for the people. While from the perspective of an outsider these interpretations might create confusion, those who have in-depth knowledge of Chinese history and culture could easily understand how these were generated.
These are certainly part of the political propaganda that is intrinsic to the CCP modus operandi, but their main aim is to instill a sense of ethics and civilization in people. As mentioned earlier, it is too hard for the CCP to control the whole population at once, therefore this is a way to trust people in their everyday behavior.
Change is happening, but it is true the Party wants to remain in power. Whether the CCP will remain the ruling party forever is hard to say, but it is very likely it will remain in the political scenario for long regardless of internal and external shocks.
