Challenges for President XI Jinping

The twice-a-decade national congress of the Communist Party of China successfully concluded in Beijing in October. The national congress which comprises nearly 2,300 elected and specially invited delegates from across China critically reviews the past performance of the party and carries out intense deliberations to chart the future course.

At the conclusion of the 20th National Congress, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China said that “the congress calls on the whole party, the entire military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to stay closely rallied around the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, to keep in mind that empty talk will do nothing for our country and only solid work will make it flourish, to maintain firm confidence, unite as one, forge ahead with resolve, and to strive in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance national rejuvenation”.

The congress also called for a stronger and prosperous China with absolute faith in the leadership that has the well-being of the people of China at heart; this may be realised by building strength, upholding fundamental principles and striving in unity to build a dream socialist country.

China’s Communist Party has elected President XI Jinping as its secretary general for a third term, an honour that has broken past norms. When Xi Jinping assumed leadership in 2012, he began to work tirelessly for the aspirations of the most populous nation on earth. His prime emphasis was upholding the Chinese constitution, rule of law, anti-corruption measures and poverty-alleviation initiatives.

At home, he made a remarkable difference in poverty alleviation, the economy, space programmes, infrastructure development, climate change and the COVID-19 challenge. China happens to be the only country that can claim the eradication of absolute poverty in a short span of four decades. In the past ten years alone, China allocated $230 billion to achieve the goal of alleviating poverty while its GDP rose to $17.73 trillion which counted for 100% increase since 2012.

China’s gross national income rose from $5,910 in 2012 to $11,890 in 2021. It also saw enormous growth in the manufacturing industry. China now contributes to nearly 30% of the global manufacturing output and has become the largest trading network across the world. Its Belt and Road Initiative, for instance, has 149 countries onboard that count for 60% of the world’s population and 35% of the global economy. China’s space programme is not only competing with that of the US and Russia but will also be far ahead of them and entirely dominate space in the near future.

Exasperated over corrupt practices, President Jinping regarded corruption as a threat to society and a major impediment to the development of the country. He vowed to end corrupt practices and initiated an anti-corruption drive that brought to trial nearly 1.5 million officials and individuals in various offences. China also witnessed a revolutionary infrastructure development in the past ten years that led to a massive expansion in rail and road networks, besides building 82 new airports to enhance connectivity.

President Jinping has worked overtime to mitigate the daunting challenge that environmental degradation and climate change pose to China. The country has also aggressively battled COVID-19 and confined it to 0.05% of the global count, which is a huge success for a country that makes up 18.47% of the world’s population.

Although China’s success story stems from visionary leadership, political stability, popular trust in central authority and continuity of policies, President Jinping is likely to find it hard in his third term to tackle upcoming challenges at home and abroad. Maintaining stability, addressing environmental degradation, zero tolerance to pandemic control, and economic and social development are major challenges at home.

Growing competition with the US, the explosive Taiwan issue, the deteriorating situation in the South China Sea, Russia’s war in Ukraine and stability in the periphery are some of the challenges that Xi Jinping is likely to confront in the future. In the face of huge challenges, President Jinping has emerged as a leader who has the propensity to pursue the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation which the Chinese believe is close to his heart.

The writer is director of the China-Pakistan Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad and can be reached at [email protected]

Originally published in The News