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Xi Jinping meets with senior officers of the Nanjing Military Area Command during an inspection tour in Jiangsu province. Photo: Xinhua

China president stresses Marxist materialism in effort to silence critics

Xi reaffirms his personal commitment to traditional philosophy as he seeks to unify Politburo's stance on China's way forward

Xi Jinping
CARY

President Xi Jinping sought to silence critics at both ends of the political spectrum on Friday by using a Politburo study session to underscore his commitment to Marxism and socialism, analysts said.

The Politburo squeezed a collective study session on Marxist dialectical materialism into its tight schedule, a year or so after it held a similar one on historical materialism.

In his speech to the Politburo session, Xi stressed that dialectical materialism was the party's worldview and methodology in its efforts to unite and lead the people.

Analysts said Xi, who is Communist Party chief, also used the platform to unify thought within the Politburo on national development.

"The high-profile study session comes amid heated debate about China's future path, with the two extremes of the political spectrum focusing on either Western political thinking or Chinese traditional culture and values," said Gu Su, a professor of political philosophy at Nanjing University.

Gu said there were diverging views in the Politburo over what steps the country should take next but "Xi used the platform to silence all political opponents, from the left and the right, of his policy".

But some observers said Xi's declaration was simply routine.

"It's a political declaration that party leaders have to do from time to time," Renmin University political scientist Zhang Ming said.

Analysts said the session came as Xi and other leaders were increasingly under pressure to answer a string of theoretical questions about the country's development path.

The ruling party deviated from hard-line Marxist ideology when Deng Xiaoping launched market reforms in the late 1970s. Since coming to office, Xi has been eager to fill the ideological void by emphasising both Marxism and traditional Chinese culture and values.

The Politburo held a similar study session on Marxist historical materialism in 2013. Dialectical and historical materialism are the two main components of Marxist philosophy and posit that the realities of the world determine what people think and believe. The principles are in opposition to idealism.

Xi said the aim of the two study sessions was to help leaders understand Marxist philosophy in even more depth.

Zhu Lijia , public policy professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said the leaders needed to find a theoretical solution to China's development, and Marxist philosophy offered a way.

"Marxist philosophy has provided the methodology to tackle China's [development] problem," Zhu said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: In silencing his critics, President makes his Marx
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