Xi Jinping and the Governance of China

Modern China has attracted global attention with its rapid development. In 2020, the country effectively coped with the COVID-19 pandemic and its heavy economic consequences. Last year, China was the only major economy to achieve positive growth: Its GDP expanded by 2.3 percent despite sharply shrinking major Western economies.

To understand how China is so actively developing, one must grasp the fundamentals of the governance that Chinese leadership applies. These approaches are succinctly described in the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. To date, three volumes of this work have been published (in 2014, 2017, and 2020, respectively), which are of great interest both in China and abroad.

The third volume includes reports, speeches, instructions, and congratulatory letters Xi Jinping sent or delivered from October 18, 2017 to January 13, 2020. It includes 92 articles on 19 different topics as well as a selection of photos reflecting the ideology of the Chinese leader and documenting the specifics of current development of China.

In this volume, Xi not only expresses his vision of China’s future but also assesses the achievements of China’s development. After the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in 2017, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, put into practice new ideas for state governance for a new era of China. In the process of this work, he made numerous proposals and expressed his position and opinions on China’s development which has enriched the treasury of the CPC’s modern thought on governance according to many Chinese experts.

In broad strokes, the volume presents the essence of the work of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core. It helps readers understand China’s political philosophy guiding the country’s development during its national rejuvenation and consistently changing status in the international arena.

This volume features a firm ideological basis. In particular, it demonstrates the modern achievements of the sinification of Marxism, that is, the enrichment of Marxism with modern Chinese experience. It shares the views of the Chinese leadership and offers deeper understanding of the concepts of China’s governance and the specifics of China’s political strategies.

The volume presents theories on state and global governance during the period as well as Chinese options for solving urgent problems plaguing mankind. It shines light on the CPC’s vision for building a community with a shared future for humanity for the benefit of the world.

The new reality is that in a volatile international environment, China requires peace for its prosperity, just as the world needs China for development and stability. What does China mean to the global community? What can China offer to the global community? Answers to these and many other questions can be found in this book.

China is well aware that global leadership requires unifying concepts in addition to primacy in economics, technology and security guarantees. China also understands that the world needs openness and consistent information to act.

Through the book, the Chinese leader seeks to formulate such an ideological basis for his international activity and share his vision of common development with the world. This is why Xi’s works are being actively translated into dozens of languages and widely distributed in different countries and regions.

The third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China evidences that Xi is a progressive and open-minded Chinese leader with big-picture thinking and the skills to lead the world’s second-largest economy.

Given the importance of China on the global stage, the publication will undoubtedly be useful not only for China watchers but for everyone interested in contemporary international relations, politics, and economics.

The author is director of the China Studies Center of Kazakhstan.