A 100 Years Of Dominance: The Chinese Communist Party

A set of goals, referred to as the 'Two Centenaries', first articulated in 1997 by then general secretary and former president Jiang Zemin and later actively promoted in 2012 by General Secretary Xi Jinping, form the basis of achieving the "Chinese Dream" namely, the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". The first of these centenaries, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), falls today (1 July 2021). China had set the material goal of becoming a Xiaokang society or a moderately well off one by that time. The objective measure of this abstract goal required the doubling of 2010 purchasing power parity (PPP) per-capita GDP of $9,210. In 2021, at $18,931 PPP per-capita GDP, the Chinese have achieved their goals.

The CCP has indeed come a long way since Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, with support from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist International, founded it in Shanghai in 1921. Today, the venue of that first meeting of the CCP is located in one of the most upmarket and trendy districts of Shanghai: a testimony to the “Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era ” belief system (originally laid down by Deng Xiaoping and modified subsequently by others) that the overwhelmingly dominant CCP, with over 95 million members, leads with eight minor subordinate parties through the United Front, professes. In the 1930s, the Communist revolutionaries, after being repeatedly driven away by Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalists, took refuge in the hinterlands of China even as the Nationalists were ravaged by war with the invading Japanese Imperial army. After the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, the Communists, fortified by the truly incredible experiences of the Long March, finally overthrew the Nationalists in 1949 and took over with Chairman Mao Zedong proclaiming the People’s Republic of China.

The second of the 'Two Centenaries' will be the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of this proclamation which is set to occur in 2049 with China as a fully developed country: “strong, rich, powerful, democratic, civilised, harmonious, and modern socialist country”. One of the hallmarks of the CCP is the ruthless focus and relentless execution towards achieving objective measurable goals.

The CCP oversaw horrifying disasters such as the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s-mid 1970s, with an estimated 40 million people dying or being killed. With Mao’s death in 1976 and the purge of the Gang of Four (that included Mao’s wife), the CCP in 1978 repudiated the “mass struggles” of the past in favour of market reforms, rehabilitated leaders like Deng Xiaoping, including Xi Jinping’s father, and has since overseen China lifting 750 million people out of extreme poverty. Xiaoping, referred to as the “Architect of Modern China”, led the opening up of China to foreign capital and technology, the setting up of Special Economic Zones and establishing diplomatic relations with the United States. Political reforms, including establishing term limits for officials, the one-child policy, the nine-year compulsory education, proposing the “one country two systems” principle for Hong Kong and Macau were also undertaken by his regime. Xiaoping oversaw the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown that significantly and adversely impacted China’s image and foreign relations. The government was tough and quick to clamp down on protestors—students and workers—seeking political reform as corruption, imports and inequalities started rising. The obsessive brutal focus on maintaining social harmony is key to the execution towards achieving the CCP’s "Chinese Dream".

The foundation laid by Xiaoping for “socialism with Chinese characteristics” transformed the CCP and its thinking. His statements such as “Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious” or, “A fundamental contradiction doesn’t exist between socialism and a market economy” or, “it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white so long as it catches mice” or, “Keep a cool head and maintain a low profile. Never take the lead - but aim to do something big” became the slogans that galvanised an entire generation of Chinese leaders to embrace reforms within the framework of the CCP, deal with anti-revisionists and work towards making China rich and developed.

Xiaoping was succeeded by Jiang Zemin as CCP chief, who carried forward these ideas by getting Chinese entrepreneurs to join the CCP. Entrepreneurs like telecom giant Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei were supported by the Chinese government as they realised the importance of having their own technology. The CCP aims to be embedded inside 90 per cent of private companies. According to one study, in 2016, 68 per cent of Chinese private companies had party bodies and 70 per cent of foreign enterprises. It was during Zemin’s tenure that China sought and got entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, something that would be transformative for the world. His successor Hu Jintao, an engineer, cemented China’s rise as a world power, focused on technocratic competence and evolved the Scientific Outlook on Development, pursued soft power in Africa, Latin America and other developing regions while cracking down on social disturbances. No stone was left unturned in the pursuit of acquiring advanced technology capabilities. “In China, we intend to acquire advanced technology, science and management skills to serve our socialist production. And these things as such have no class character” was another of Xiaoping’s statements that were taken to heart. Every CCP chief formulated their interpretation of the writings of Marx-Engels to suit the context of the times to ensure that the party remained in control with “social harmony” maintained and directed by the CCP’s belief systems.

President Xi Jinping, the first CCP General Secretary to be born after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, succeeded Hu Jintao in 2012. He seized the opportunity presented by the 2008 financial crisis to aggressively pursue China’s interests globally. By abolishing term limits for himself and by also becoming the Commander in Chief of the military, he has reversed the political reforms initiated by Xiaoping. A very aggressive foreign policy, including along India’s borders and in the seas surrounding China, is increasingly and alarmingly evident. China is deploying all instruments of influence, including media propaganda, its massive market, financial power and infrastructure building (e.g. Belt and Road Initiative BRI), to become a powerful global player. It is a dominant player in international institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). According to the think-tank Gateway House, China’s expanding influence has been enabled by the country’s increased monetary contributions to the world body – it is the fifth-largest donor to the UN, and it occupies either the head or deputy head position in almost all critical international agencies.

It has become very clear that China sees itself as a worthy competitor to the US and that the time has come to cast off the “Taoguang Yanghe“ exhortation that Xiaoping had made in 1990, meaning “Keep a low profile/Don't draw attention to yourself". More literally, the idiom says to put a shade over the light/brightness, nurture (ourselves) in dimmed space/obscurity.

Technology As The Vehicle For Change

In 1986, China launched the 863 program for science and technology that aimed for China to become self-reliant by developing advanced technologies. China today, under President Jinping, with a GDP of about $14 trillion—confident of its power, influence, ability to influence, dominate the world and become a rich, fully developed country—is directing Chinese policy towards technology leadership. It realises that the twenty-first century will be dominated by technology and understands the link between technological innovation, owning standards and wealth creation. China wants to therefore leapfrog the West’s current leadership in technology by setting standards that can be used by Chinese companies to gain market leadership around the world.

China is a big player in international technology standards bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). For example, it submitted over 830 technical documents to the ITU, more than the US, South Korea and Japan combined. It is also the fifth-largest contributor to the ITU. China is also seeking bilateral, mutual recognition of standards with countries in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), fortifying its geopolitical power through technological cooperation and convergence and establishing a "Digital Silk Road". Most significantly, China will soon release the blueprint for its “China Standards 2035”, a next step from the manufacturing vision of “Made in China 2025”. The document is likely to lay out China’s role in setting technological standards in artificial intelligence (AI), 5G/6G, internet of things (IoT), electric vehicles, batteries, smart cities, etc. It is also working to develop leadership expertise in semiconductors, space and defence technologies. China’s vision of technology Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) envisages China as a net recipient of technology licensing fees from being the second-largest payer of licensing fees to foreign companies today. As the Pentagon’s Innovation Board bluntly said: “The country that owns 5G will own many of these innovations and set the standards for the rest of the world … That country is currently not likely to be the United States”. China is a world leader in 5G technology.

The CCP constantly burnishes its core communist beliefs in light of the changing conditions in which it finds itself: the changing socio-economic demographics within China, the world around it, the role of technology and its own influence around the world. The burnishing, however, takes care to ensure that “social harmony” is maintained at all costs - oftentimes brutally - that China’s relentless, pragmatic and ever-evolving march towards its socio-economic goals continues. The CCP realises that the extant “social harmony” can be maintained as long as China and Chinese people keep prospering. Towards this end, it will ensure that anything or anybody that can disturb the current social equilibrium will be ruthlessly dealt with, such as the media, activists, technology platforms, legal challenges, international sanctions. The CCP is nothing if not pragmatic and patient. It is also acutely aware of what befell its ideological midwife, the USSR, in 1991 and is, under President Jinping, determined to not allow that to happen.

We will all know the result within 28 years.

Also read:

Will India dare to dream like China?

China’s science and tech surge: How it happened and what it means for the world