A new dawn for China?

President Xi Jinping of China gets another five-year term, which means he has already consolidated his position to possibly become China’s most powerful leader yet. Given this backdrop, let me turn to Xi’s speech at the CPC Congress. He talked about assuring China’s neighbours that China has no intentions of being hostile to them, but Chinese interests will be prioritised. It’s true that Xi didn’t refer to any specific country, but what he did map out in his speech was a very assertive agenda for China, taking it all the way up to 2050. So, what he had said is, by 2035, China will become a technologically advanced nation, ranking among the top countries of the world. And by 2050, it will have adequate influence to become a global pioneer. In other words, it will be one of the leading nations of the world. He also said that he will make the PLA a global force -- which means it will match China’s political ambition of becoming a power with pioneering influence. In other words, they will set the global agenda. The other aspect we shouldn’t forget is the assertiveness he had displayed at the South China Sea, as well as the pressure he has applied on Taiwan and India ever since he came to office. I don’t see any signs of that being eased in his second term, because Xi is becoming stronger; he has gotten his own people into the army, he will probably get a number of his loyalists into the politburo and the restraints on him will be further reduced.A new choiceChina has seen powerful leaders in the past. It had Mao Zedong, who governed China from 1949 to 1976; Deng Xiaoping who ushered China virtually into the modern age. And, even then, successors have been powerful leaders in their own right.

Xi sent out a signal to the world that there is another system of governance available

Xi Jinping has sought to emerge as China’s most powerful leader since Mao. In some respects, Xi has made himself even more powerful than Mao. Now that he has already got another five-year term and his name has been enlisted in the party constitution, what would make Xi Jinping stand out? If you read the speech or the summary of the speech, it’s all really motherhood and apple pie. It’s a larger vision of where he would like to see China by 2049. He outlined a pathway, but most importantly, Xi sent out a signal to the world that there is another system of governance available. While India and the West follow democracy, North Korea and Cuba follow a totalitarian regime, there is another choice of political system: Socialism with Chinese characteristics. The system is a new mode of governance for developing nations seeking to grow economically while maintaining their independence. And this is perhaps the first time the Chinese have subtly talked about exporting that model.China won’t lay lowChina’s dominance came to the fore from early 2008. But since 2013, it has gone up many notches thanks to Xi Jinping. He has spelled out that the party will be a major factor in virtually every sector in China, whether it is politics or economy. This means that there will be higher doses of ideology and nationalism in the Chinese atmosphere. I would anticipate increases assertiveness in the South China Sea, and greater pressure on Taiwan and India. While it is important to note that the Doklam conflict has not ended, we have seen withdrawal and a diffusing of tension, but we are also seeing a level of dissatisfaction inside China which has not been there for a while. In the past decade, China has maintained Deng Xiaoping’s famous dictum that China must “keep a low profile and never take the lead.” Now, Beijing thinks the time for it to lay low has ended. China has taken pride in asserting its dominance and taking strong positions on territorial and maritime issues. Now, what we’ve seen domestically in China is the consolidation and centralisation of power by Xi Jinping in a way that we have never seen since the Mao era.Sharif Hasan is currently working as a field researcher on behalf of Centre for Genocide Studies (CGS), University of Dhaka.