China Briefing | Is Xi’s new ‘core’ status a sign of strength, or weakness?
The significance and implications of the Chinese leader’s new status are underappreciated, as he is set to influence his nation’s course for the next 20 years. The upcoming 19th congress should offer more clues on reform and opening up
China’s Central Television’s 30-minute evening news broadcast starting from 7pm boasts the biggest daily audience of more than 300 million people. All local news stations across the country are mandated to relay the segment.
As such, it is the preferred platform for Chinese leaders to make policy announcements and to be seen meeting with visiting foreign dignitaries or conducting inspection trips, and for many mainlanders interested in politics and policies to figure out what their leaders are up to.
President Xi Jinping (習近平) seems to monopolise the top news items every day. Even on the odd days when Xi is absent from public activities, the anchor will invariably lead with Xi’s past instructions and then go on to the relevant news items. Elsewhere, Xi’s news reports or his “golden aphorisms” are always mandatorily set at the very top of social media news apps or home pages of all leading news portals. All these hark back to the era of Mao Zedong (毛澤東) whose quotations adorned the front pages of newspapers or led most all articles.
The mainland’s massive propaganda machine has been in overdrive to bolster Xi’s credentials and praise his leadership skills and bold vision, particularly after a Communist Party Central Committee meeting conferred him the title as “core” leader in October last year, elevating him to the same ranks as Mao and Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平).
For many observers at home and abroad, the headlong rush to confer accolades on Xi has sent conflicting messages about his power and the country’s political future. On one hand, elevating Xi to “core” status points to his ironclad grasp on power as undisputed leader, the culmination of just four years in which he has accumulated sweeping power over institutions from the party to the government to the military. On the other hand, many observers appear to have concluded that given his remarkable success in consolidating power, the fact that Xi continues to push for greater status may reflect a deep sense of insecurity. His dominance of the decision-making process makes him vulnerable to potential political challenges over a slowing economy and other social instability.