Xi Jinping : Political Career, Governance, and Leadership, 1953-2018

Xi Jinping has proven to be one of the most transformative political leaders of the twenty-first century. After a long career that began at the village level, he became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and China's paramount leader in 2012. Few expected what would come next: a sweeping restructuring of China's political economy and political culture which included anti-corruption campaigns against the Party, and a full recalibration of China's relations with the outside world. In Xi Jinping, Alfred L. Chan offers a comprehensive account of his life and times. Chan discusses Xi's early years as a "princeling" and his ordeal during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Xi's privileged childhood was shattered during his youth when he was mercilessly tormented as a counter-revolutionary, declared a juvenile delinquent and pauper, ultimately becoming an ordinary peasant. But he clawed his way back up a ladder of success reflecting the changing zeitgeist of the times. He entered politics at age seventeen and accumulated administrative experiences at the county and provincial levels. Chan documents Xi's long path upward through the system, revealing how he built a reputation as an astute leader and a corruption fighter. The second half of the book focuses on the post-2012 period, and Chan pays particular attention to the context surrounding Xi's governance once he consolidated power. He makes clear that Xi's core guiding principle has been Leninism, which prioritizes disciplined party rule above all else. Throughout, Chan applies a range of social scientific theories drawn from comparative politics, international relations theory, public policy, and theories of governance to explain policymaking during an era of turbulent changes. Sweeping in scope and addressing virtually every aspect of Xi's life, this study will be essential for anyone seeking to understand not just Xi himself, but the overlapping global and domestic political contexts that shaped his career and style of rule. Xi Jinping has proven to be one of the most transformative political leaders of the twenty-first century. After a long career that began at the village level, he became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and China's paramount leader in 2012. Few expected what would come next: a sweeping restructuring of China's political economy and political culture which included anti-corruption campaigns against the Party, and a full recalibration of China's relations with the outside world. In Xi Jinping, Alfred L. Chan offers a comprehensive account of his life and times.Chan discusses Xi's early years as a "princeling" and his ordeal during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Xi's privileged childhood was shattered during his youth when he was mercilessly tormented as a counter-revolutionary, declared a juvenile delinquent and pauper, ultimately becoming an ordinary peasant. But he clawed his way back up a ladder of success reflecting the changing zeitgeist of the times. He entered politics at age seventeen and accumulated administrative experiences at the county and provincial levels. Chan documents Xi's long path upward through the system, revealing how he built a reputation as an astute leader and a corruption fighter.The second half of the book focuses on the post-2012 period, and Chan pays particular attention to the context surrounding Xi's governance once he consolidated power. He makes clear that Xi's core guiding principle has been Leninism, which prioritizes disciplined party rule above all else. Throughout, Chan applies a range of social scientific theories drawn from comparative politics, international relations theory, public policy, and theories of governance to explain policymaking during an era of turbulent changes. Sweeping in scope and addressing virtually every aspect of Xi's life, this study will be essential for anyone seeking to understand not just Xi himself, but the overlapping global and domestic political contexts that shaped his career and style of rule. "This book, in one convenient volume, is the first comprehensive exploration of all episodes of Xi Jinping's (b. 1953) life history and his political career, begun at age 17. Part I explores Xi's formative childhood and youth experience as well as his governance record spanning every administrative level from the village to the capital. Part II focuses on Xi's first five-year term as General Secretary (2012-2017) and as President (2013-2018). The author discusses all major issues including Xi's legitimacy building, consolidation of power, ideological redefinition, party rectification, anti-corruption efforts, and control of dissent up until 2018. He explores reforms in the economy, social policy, the judiciary, military, and foreign relations in the same period. Xi's political life mirrors the vicissitudes of the Maoist and reform eras, and sheds light on the regime's hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses, and the changing zeitgeist of the times. By adopting a multi-disciplinary, comparative, and social science approach, this book unpacks and explains immensely complex phenomena, and offers fresh insights into the dynamics of governance in China encompassing both progressive and regressive features. It synthesizes a large corpus of cutting-edge research on China, takes issue with influential theories such as the "one party, two coalitions" view of Chinese politics, and rejects conventional wisdom that views China as a "frozen and closed system" under "one-man rule." This original contribution to scholarship explores how Xi Jinping and his team introduced an unprecedented transformation of Chinese society and politics, and initiated an activist global outreach"-- Provided by publisher Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Introduction Part I: Xi Jinping’s Path to the Top 2. Childhood and Youth: Privilege and Trauma, 1953–1979 3. Early Career: Central Military Commission, 1979–1982, and Zhengding County, 1983–1985 4. Seventeen Years in Fujian: Governance and a New Political Economy, 1985–2002 5. The Sixteenth Party Congress, 2002, and Governing Zhejiang, 2002–2007 6. The Shanghai Interlude and Political Succession at the Seventeenth Party Congress, October 2007 7. The Trials of the Heir Apparent and Crisis Management, 2007–2012 8. The Eighteenth Party Congress, November 2012, and Succession Politics Part II: Xi Jinping’s First Term as General Secretary: Governance and Reform in Turbulent Times, 2012–2017 9. Consolidation of Power, Image-Building, and Disciplining the Party State and Society 10. Economic Revival, Social Development, and the Search for a New Development Model 11. Modernizing the Military and Recalibrating Foreign Relations 12. Power, Policy, and Political Succession: The Nineteenth Party Congress, October 2017 13. The Thirteenth National People’s Congress, March 2018, and Administrative Reform 14. Conclusion Notes Glossary References Index This book is the first comprehensive exploration of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's life and political career. Synthesizing a large corpus of cutting-edge research, Chan provides a contextualized and balanced analysis of the leader and demonstrates how his life sheds light on the vicissitudes of the history of the People's Republic. The result is an original contribution to scholarship which is essential reading for anyone interested in the turbulent rise of China andits implications for the world This is a comprehensive exploration of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's life and political career. Synthesizing a large corpus of cutting-edge research, Chan provides a contextualized and balanced analysis of the leader and demonstrates how his life sheds light on the vicissitudes of the history of the People's Republic. The result is an original contribution to scholarship which is essential reading for anyone interested in the turbulent rise of China and its implications for the world