CHINA-WATCH, FROM TWO THOUSAND FEET ABOVE

The names that come to mind when we think of leadership in modern China are Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kaishek, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping. 

Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China is considered as the father of the nation and the forerunner of the ‘Revolution’. His political party Kuomintang (Nationalist) has the distinction of ending monarchy in China. He is widely respected both in the mainland China and Taiwan,

Chaing Kaishek has the distinction of being one of the longest serving non-royal heads of state in the 20th century. He created the National Revolutionary Army which had both Kuomintang and Communist Party (CCP) members in it and he became the Generalissimo of the army. Kaishek’s role in unifying China by defeating the northern warlords was significant. Later, he fell out with the CCP and went through tumultuous times, settling in Taiwan as it ruler, when the communists overran the mainland. 

Mao Zedong is credited with the creation of modern China. The ‘Long March’ and the creation of ‘People’s Liberation Army’ by him are legion. He ruled the nation brutally and closed his eyes to the sufferings of million of Chinese of famine and diseases. He was instrumental in making the party as the supreme being and declared that the people, army and the government must be unquestionably loyal to the party. In the latter half of his leadership, the nation and its people went through huge distress. 

Deng Xiaoping was considered by the world as a pragmatic leader who opened up Chinese economy by taking it through the principles of ‘state capitalism’. Without diluting the supremacy of the party, he steered China out of the huge mess created by Chairman Mao. His initiatives stabilised the economy and ensured its fast growth, year on year. He gave good attention to south China (the Cantonese region) and converted it as the manufacturing centre of the world. While all these progressive developments were happening, he advised the nation to ‘hide the strength and bide the time’ (and that is precisely what Xi is now doing - biding the time). The last  40 years of unprecedented economic growth of China is the result of Deng’s policies and the Chinese never had it so good and rightly so, he is called the ‘Architect of modern China’! In the same way the Chinese describe Chiarman Mao, Deng Xiaoping also came to be is called as the ‘Paramount leader’. 

The man who is poised to become the greatest of the Chinese leadership is Xi Jinping. He had created the necessary regulatory ecosystem for him to let it happen. Coming into leadership in 2012, he maintained firm grip on the country and the party. In order to win the people’s empathy, he acted brutally on the corrupt people within the party and government. With policies such as ‘belt and road initiatives’ he ventured into the neighbourhood nations and other continents and in the process, made most of the developing nations economically dependent on China. China being the factory of the world, it also helped to maintain trade surplus with almost all nations. In about 10 years, he had put China almost on the top of the world both militarily and economically. His latest move is taking control of the emerging Chinese technology entrepreneurship that had made its mark globally, with a view to destroy monopolies and to create competition. 

It is actually on the strength of the economic foundations laid by Deng Xiaoping that Xi Jinping is riding the China wave. Xi has this unwavering ambition to establish Chinese supremacy over the world. He is unwilling to brook any inside resistance or competition to reach his aspirations. By doing all these, Xi is about to ensure his place in Chinese history, as the ‘Supreme leader’, above that of Mao. Towards this. there is also a move within the CCP to discredit Deng Xiaoping, the nation’s economic saviour. 

In a Covid world, many nations, including USA, have turned against China and realise Xi Jinping’s global designs. Leading countries now doubt that Corona Virus pandemic was a strategic initiative of Xi towards meeting China’s global supremacy. Energising alliances such as QUAD etc.by US is to counter any such move by Xi. 

Will Xi’s ambitions fructify? Only an internally stable China without dissent can let it happen. Xi also realises that and is trying his right earnest to keep it so. 

Let us continue our China watch……..