Hard times: China’s challenges demand bigger role for centralised leadership, says Communist Party mouthpiece
State media have sought to justify attempts to consolidate Xi Jinping as the “core” of the Communist Party’s leadership, arguing that expanded centralised authority is needed to meet the complex and arduous challenges facing the country.
An article released on Wednesday night through the WeChat account operated by the overseas edition of People’s Daily said Xi would have more “authority and commitment” to “reshape China’s political landscape” and “take overall responsibility for various party tasks”.
It follows a series of moves in recent weeks to define Xi as the “core of the party’s leadership”, tactics that have raised concerns the party is deviating from the long-standing collective, consensus-driven model.
The article, penned by member of a writers group called “the Study Group”, elaborated on a statement issued after a Politburo meeting last month.
That statement demanded that party officials “enhance their political awareness and view of the general situation”, maintain loyalty to the leadership “core”, and “align” with the leadership under Xi.
Xi has also issued rallying calls to his colleagues in both the elite 25-member Politburo and the innermost seven-strong Standing Committee, urging them to unite behind him in “thought and action”.
In addition, the party propaganda machine has ramped up a nationwide campaign for officials’ to “align” to such a “core”.
Xigen Li, associate professor at City University’s media and communication department, said the two new terms from the Politburo meeting “emphasised alignment and control, which symbolises low or no tolerance of deviation from the centre”.
Li said that while alignment and control could unify action and behaviour, the approach might not always align and control thinking in a world where people were exposed to a wide range of thoughts and ideology.
Li also warned that the lack of freedom to take the initiative risked stifling creativity and encouraging a wait-and-see attitude in situations that demanded immediate attention and solutions.
The article on Wednesday night said centralised leadership was imperative because China was struggling to avoid the so-called middle-income and Thucydides traps.
The article also said that reforms being rolled out had “moved the cheese of many groups and individuals”.
Any split in the party was a political danger, it said.
The “middle-income trap” describes economies that become stuck when they reach a certain level of economic development.
It applies to many countries in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Thucydides Trap refers to the danger of conflict when a rising power rivals a ruling power – as Athens did in the 5th century BC and Germany at the end of the 19th century.
It is often used as a reference to the rivalry between China and the United States, as seen by recent tension over disputed waters in the South China Sea.