Xi Jinping tells Communist Party to keep innovating and contributing to Marxism

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the ruling Communist Party to continue innovating and developing Marxism as it prepares to enshrine his thoughts in the party’s charter next month.

Speaking to dozens of party leaders at a study session on Friday, Xi said the country should make original contributions to Marxist theories based on its history and experience.

“[We] must centre on what we are doing now, listen to the people, respond to real needs … combine the basic Marxist theories with China’s specific reality in a better way,” state-run Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

“[We] must persistently use the latest achievements of the Sinicisation of Marxism to equip our minds, consolidate our hearts and soul.”

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The address came less than three weeks ahead of the party’s 19th National Congress, which will see Xi’s political theories added to the party charter.

Sources have told the South China Morning Post that Xi’s name will be incorporated as well, meaning he will be elevated to the same status as former paramount leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

The speech is the latest sign that Xi will be accorded this status after just five years in power.

In the Communist Party lexicon, the theoretical legacies of former leaders are all celebrated as the “latest achievements of the Sinicisation of Marxism”. Party theoreticians and Marxist scholars have been applauding Xi’s thoughts on governance as such achievements since early last year.

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At the gathering, Xi also called for deeper understanding of contemporary capitalism, including its structural problems.

“These views help us to correctly understand the development and fate of capitalism, and accurately grasp the new changes and characteristics of contemporary capitalism,” he said.