It took only two sentences for Xinhua to make the historical announcement; the Central Committee of the CCCP “proposed to remove the expression that ‘the president and vice-president of the People’s Republic of China shall serve no more than two consecutive terms’ from the country’s constitution.”
That will be all but confirmed at the end of the annual National People’s Congress session starting next week in Beijing.
A Made in the West geopolitical storm duly ensued; forceful condemnations of the “regime” and its “authoritarian revival,” across-the-spectrum demonization of the “dictator for life” and “the new Mao.” It’s as if the New Emperor was about to concoct the imminent launch of a Great Famine, Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen combo.
Now compare the hysteria with renowned Renmin University professor of International Relations Shi Yinhong, who attempted to introduce a measure of realpolitik: “For a long time into the future, China will continue to move forward according to Xi’s thoughts, his route, his guiding principles and his absolute leadership.”
The global economy’s captains of industry, old and new, have better shark fin to consume than to be constrained by the lowly Western Politician game of demonizing China. Turbo-capitalism – with or without “Chinese characteristics” – has absolutely nothing to do with Western liberal democracy. The Little Helmsman Deng Xiaoping introduced a real “third way”: economic proficiency coupled with political control. Deng, by the way, learned the ropes from Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew – a darling of the West.
Xi may embody the guarantee China needs to carry out, as smoothly as possible, a much-needed anti-corruption purge sidelining the many rotten branches of the CCP while steering a much needed economic reorientation that should benefit, most of all, the rural proletariat.
Besides, Xi is already leading internationally in climate change, nuclear proliferation, not to mention realigning global trade as globalization 2.0.
And that brings us to childish Western attempts to deride the New Silk Roads, known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as “overblown,” coupled with claims that BRI is facing a “global backlash.” That barely qualifies as wishful thinking.
What’s happening in the real world is that the Trump administration is trying to engineer an anti-BRI via the Quad (US, Japan, India, Australia) – but without BRI’s transnational and transcontinental appeal, not to mention funding.
Japan is making noises about a $200 billion Afro-Asian counterpunch. India centers its offensive on a deal with Iran to have Chabahar port compete with Gwadar. The Turnbull administration in Australia, in its 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, bets on engaging the US against China. And Admiral Kurt Titt, the head of Southcom, carps, among other military officers, that BRI is a threat to US influence.
Xi, as well as Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has identified very clearly which way the wind is blowing, with Washington treating both China and Russia as “revisionist powers” and a certified strategic threat.
The Tang dynasty meets Plato
Xi may now turn into a post-modern version of an enlightened Tang emperor. But he also performs as the embodiment of Plato – a philosopher-king ruling with help of the best and the brightest (think Liu He, director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and Xi’s top man on economic policy).
The CCP as Plato’s Republic has concluded that yes, it’s all about management. China’s titanic tweaking of its economic model simply cannot be accomplished at least before 2030. Challenges include managing the transition of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); the move towards added value GDP growth; how to organize China as a major consumer society; and how to contain the spread of financial risks.
For all these, consistency and continuity is key.
Xi has all but announced his major moves. The Chinese Dream – or China as a stable, middle-income nation. BRI as a connectivity vector integrating not only Eurasia but also Africa and Latin America. The increasing influence of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Securing the South China Sea as well as increasing a presence not only across the Indian Ocean but all the way to the Third Island – a matter of protecting China’s connectivity/supply lines.
And last but not least, China configured as the top power in either Asia-Pacific or “Indo-Pacific.”
History will judge Xi by his deeds. The rest is mere Sinophobia.
2,400 years ago in lieu of inefficient godless Democracy (where Demos, the 5% moneyed males, rule over 95% rest) Socrates offered a god-fearing Republic where the learned rule in a govt of the people, for the people, by the people. He was mocked then hemlocked.
With Belt and Road initiative Peoples’ Republic revives that dream poetically in this 5 minute video by Xi.
The response by Corpoate Capitalist Democracies is the same as to Socrates – ridicule and sabotage with their own quad-Silk Road.
China’s BRI is principally Land based since Asia, Europe, and Africa are contiguous. Its aims to transport finished goods fast and cheap via high speed trains. It has a side Maritime component.
The quad America, Japan, Australia, UK, and India are not land connected. Their "Road" is principally a Maritime adventure more suitable for commodities. They will help feed China’s growing industries as Japan, US, UK de-industrialize. This new misadventure is colonialism by choice, LOL.
Nice.????
Right on, Pepe!
China’s OBOR is about creating business opportunity, Quad’s project is about containing China. If you are businessmen, which one do you pick to invest? money making project or geopolitics one?
Sour grapes grow in bunches in the West these days.
I like your reference to "Childish Western" attempts to "poo-poo" aka rdicule China’s OBOR and AIIB. As we all know both the US and Japan refused to have a bar of the AIIB and while AIIB is financing a few projects with both the WB and ADB the Washington Consensus is dead or dying and the other Bretton Wood’s institutions are terminally ill and as a "gaming person" I would put my money on the Chinese horses at the races. As for the US initiatives that involve itself, India, Japan and Australia, the question I would like to ask is how is the Quad going to contain China? It seems to me that more rather than less countries are developing susbstantive relationships with China – and that are far less obsequios than the US and those "joined at its hip" (obsequios Australia is the exemplar in this respect thinking it is a link between Washington and Beijing) – and fewer countries are developing similar relationships with the US. Is this good for the world? Making a sweeping statement I think absolutely.
The countries left behind at the proverbial altar will be Australia,Japan and India if they don’t wake up. The Middle Kingdom continues to march forward!!!
Well I don`t know for sure but the two term system in the US has produced some real geniouses, G W Bush and D Trump. I mean how is Xi going to compete with leaders on such an intellectual level as those two.
Thank you for a very insightful article, the kind that our mainstream media should but would not publish.
pepe e seus papinhos de engana trouxa pró comunistas chineses,,, a pergunta continua de pé: você faz isso pro bono mesmo???
History will indeed judge Xi by his deeds. And those apologists, like Escobar, who let their anti-western instincts cloud their judgment.
If what Pepe has said has to happen and for china to establish itself as predominant Indian ocean power, then there is a definite possibility of a war or at least a skrimish between India and China and no matter what, china will not be able to dominate IOR without India by it’s side. we are too large to defeat and contain . It will create hostilities that will last for generations. Hope it does not come to that. And I have no particular hostility towards china but if china militarily comes into Indian peripheral region and don’t expect backlash would be illogical.
A Platonic Philsopher King ? That’s a bit much. But the Chinese culturally have generational patience, respect practical experience, celebrate education for its own sake, and think long term. All these are characteristic the West seems to lack.
The anti-American bloggers are forever casting the United States as trying to contain China. This suits their anti-American narrative. Trump wants to fix America’s vulnerabilities brought about by China’s strategies to make China the dominant power in the world. Sure he compete’s with China. Are the anti-American bloggers saying China doesn’t compete with the US? Is China trying to contain the US? Who is the real war hawk?
I am curious about how you would react to Chas Freeman’s latest assay on asiansvoice dot com.
I don’t think the Chinese give a "rat’s ass" about "history" as seen through the eyes of "Western scholars" or "publicists" trying to shore up declining Western hegemonic culture and politics (in the field of economics the West is of course no longer hegemonic). Rather it is what the Chinese themselves will think and since 1949 the Chinese – despite the excesses of the Mao period – have been standing up for themselves.
Shane Tarr I am all for the Chinese people, and you are correct that they have no reason to listen to the west. But we’re not talking about the Chinese people – we’re talking about one man, with absolute power.
Darrell Burgan He is the Chinese people !
The fresher article from Chinese media mentioned the preparation of nuclear carrier building started 60 years ago. China sent first group of nuclear major students to Russia, just after communist new China had been erected. One of them later presided the development institute of nuclear power the submarine.
With two conventional carriers have been successfully built, and decades of experiences for nuclear engines in submarines, to build nuke powered carriers should be in perspective. More over, the official media reported the new type of electro-magnetic take off devices have been tested for over 1000 times. These mean Chinese carriers will soon catch up American Ford class level. The bad news for US navy is that the Ford carrier is having many problems, Martis the Chief of Pentagon condemned it as Poor and in Unknown reliability. The essential shock
test has to be postponed until 2024. But China has initiated new types building in Shanghai and Dalian, the future fleets led by nuclear carriers are planned to be ready for duty in 2025. Cutting throats competition is not only in trade , but also in defence building, btw. Sino-US.
Trump, right? The Master Planner. There are chemicals in your kool-aid.
Lawrence Lee Magnuson underestimate Trump at your own peril. underestimate Putin and Jinping also at your own oeril. I don’t…
So he accusses Great Britain of being involved in some sort of post-colonial conspiracy to prevent the world from developing yet he’s a Chinese who draws a paycheck from the city of London…. only a fifty-center could say such a hypocritical, moronic thing.
Greg Cai We’ll have to disagree. A dictator is a dictator.
I for sure pick 2, my business is my lifehood. Besided it was a lie saying that development in other countries do not need "rule by laws" !