Idea that modern China practises abdication of leadership greeted with scepticism
A theory hailing China's leadership transition system has been ridiculed as self-congratulatory rhetoric that ignores the people's aspirations
With Communist Party leader Xi Jinping pursuing a "Chinese renaissance", some party ideologues and think tank scholars have attributed the nation's recent rise to its inheritance of a supposed keystone of good governance dating back thousands of years.
That mythical inheritance is the concept of "abdication of leadership" - handing over the "crown" voluntarily to the next generation.
Shoring up the legitimacy of communist rule in a bid to maintain the one-party system has been the primary task of Chinese leaders since the collapse of communism in the former Soviet bloc in the early 1990s. With the challenges facing the new leadership under Xi growing due to rising ideological conflict, social tension and widespread corruption, that task has become all the more imperative.
Think tank scholars have been searching for solutions for years. Among the most discussed models is that of Singapore, where the ruling People's Action Party operates strictly under the national constitution and the rule of law. Or perhaps China could follow the example of Japan, where the main factions within the Liberal Democratic Party compete to balance entrenched interest groups.
It said China's system had proved more successful than the democratic system of developed nations, which was flawed by frequent changes of leader and ruling parties, and the hereditary rule of developing nations in the Middle East and Africa, which featured lifelong tenure.
"Looking back at history and elsewhere around the world, China's current system is not only the most successful one in more than 100 years of modern Chinese history but also the best in the world in the past 60 years," the long article said.