Andrew Browne in his column – China World in the Wall Street Journal today describes the Chinese Premier ‘s election victory last month as ‘ A Party of One ” . Xi Jinping was re-elected unanimously for another term – for life ? – as for the first time in several decades ,the succession question is open as the 19th Party Congress did not name a successor to Xi . Also after Mao’s legacy , this is probably the first time that a leader’s thoughts got included in the policy framework of the Nation.
The world has seen ‘cult ‘ figures in national leadership roles like Joseph Stalin , Mao Zedong , Charles de Gaulle and Lee Kuan Yew who wielded great power with almost no opposition politically. Will Xi Jinping reach this level as the third generation leader in China after Mao and Deng ? – Vladimir Putin is a close contender to Xi Jinping in this aspect in Russia.
I took interest in Chinese history first time after reading the books – The Good Earth and Dragon Seed by Pearl S Buck. The first Chinese Revolution of 1911 which overthrew the Imperial Dynasty and the second Chinese Revolution of 1949 when Mao Zedong created the Peoples Republic Of China attracted a lot of attention of the world. The Sleeping Dragon of the Peasant and Cycle days of China went through a great Cultural Revolution through the ” Great Leap Forward “. China remained closed and isolated from the world for some more time until the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 – the first and probably the last efforts for democratic rights and pluralism with a multi party framework ! .
The Annexation of Tibet by China in 1960 and the US – China Rapprochement of the 70’s through the good offices of Henry Kissinger were strategically important developments of the century and altered the power balance post World War Two . But the new ‘ Avtar ‘ of China really came about thanks to the adoption of market economy by Den Xiaoping during 1978-89. While Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao who followed Deng kept the new momentum , it was Xi Jiping in a short period of five years after taking over , kicked off many initiatives during his term towards bringing up China as the second most world economic power after the US . His new ambitious Infrastructure Initiative – The One Belt -One Road [ OBOR] towards Globalization of Investments in a multi nation road map for 30 plus years is the talk of the global strategists today. This $5 Trillion project integrates the old silk routes through the land with a new maritime silk road covering Asia, the Middle East ,Europe and Africa. The project involves Roads,bridges ,gas pipelines,ports,railways and power plants . China always believes in dreaming BIG as is clear from their many large infrastructure projects within China in the recent past as seen in Shanghai, Dalian and in Chengdu. The US,Japan and India have expressed reservations on this project for strategic reasons – India because the OBOR passes through POK – a disputed territory between India and Pakistan and the US and japan because of its objections on the maritime routes . Recently, Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan has mooted an alternative to OBOR with Australia,India and the US participating in it.
While China stands poised for greater laurels in the World Economic Scene, many analysts predict the bursting of the Bubble in the near term. While Mao and Deng were cult figures loved and revered by the Chinese Public, Xi Jiping is yet to acquire this status. Another issue of global impact is the defiant nuclear posture of North Korea which will test the leadership of Xi Jinping to a very critical level ! Only time will tell if this ” Party of One ” will vindicate the trust placed on him by the Chinese Polity.