Xi gets unprecedented third term as China’s President
HISTORY was created in People’s Republic of China (PRC), when Xi Jinping was unanimously approved for a third term as President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) as well as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC by the 2952 delegates of the National People’s Congress. The world is facing an upheaval owing to the global pandemic COVID-19, the havoc wreaked by climate changes, wars in Ukraine, Syria and other hotspots, tension in the South Pacific region and an economic meltdown. Yet through all these challenges, one leader and one country have stood out, working for peace and prosperity, Xi Jinping and China. Under his watch, CPC celebrated its centenary by achieving its first centennial goal of eliminating absolute poverty from China and firmly setting the stage for securing second centennial goal of “building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, culturally advanced and harmonious” by 2049.
President Xi Jinping has braved all storms of adversity boldly and in a statesmanlike demeanour. His mega project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has not only won accolades but also secured the trust of over one hundred countries and organizations. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrow—infrastructure with sustainability at its core, has been hailed as a welcome addition to making the twenty-first century as the century of Asia. His ingenuities in combating climate change have been applauded, while the remarkable progress of PRC in science and technology, medicine and space research have won laurels.
The most remarkable aspect of President Xi Jinping’s policies is his emphasis on inclusiveness. Instead of aspiring for China’s solo prowess into leading the world, the astute leader wants to take the world along, to share in development plans and make the entire world a peaceful and progressive community. He has his share of detractors, a handful of nations, who are not comfortable with the meteoric rise of China’s economy, who try to put impediments in his path. Yet he has borne adversity boldly, refusing to be drawn into traps that could lead to meaningless conflict, while simultaneously building PRC’s military to a level, where it can defend itself credibly and deter would-be aggressors.
The remarkable aspect of Xi’s pragmatic leadership is his role as a mediator between antagonists to achieve harmony. The latest endeavour is bringing the erstwhile hostile nations of Iran and Saudi Arabia on one table to discuss peace. This is a singular achievement and augurs well for developing concord in the region. Beijing has also played an effective role in resolving the Rohingya crisis. Small wonder then that congratulatory messages from world leaders across the globe poured in, extending heartfelt and sincere felicitations to President Xi Jinping on the expression of confidence in his leadership by the people of China. Felicitations were also extended by erstwhile critics of China. Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would like to maintain communication with Xi and promote the building of constructive and stable Sino-Japan-relations.
The aspirations of the Chinese people have been met, because since Chairman Mao Zedong, CPC has not had such a powerful leadership. President Xi, who moulded himself from the grassroots, after he spent seven years of his youth in a remote farm, worked in different prefectures, rose to this position by dint of hard work and his commitment. Xi learnt the basics of leadership by tilling the soil, working with labourers, promoting economic theories and even resorting to writing columns to express his ideas. Visiting the US in his mid-level career, for a prolonged visit, he familiarized himself with the intricacies of the breakthrough of American agriculture, the ethos of this multi-ethnic continent and culture. All these experiences broadened his horizon, enriching and enabling the budding leader to shoulder the responsibilities of governance, when the occasion arose.
Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the challenges of COVID-19 were met head on, evolving best practices to tackle the pandemic, developing vaccines and protecting the people. The exacting effects on the Chinese economy and the adverse effect on growth have been dealt with pragmatically, setting achievable goals rather than lofty ones. More emphatically, success can be gauged within the parameters of the “two establishments” — the establishment of Xi’s core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the establishment of the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era — which are the guarantors for overcoming all obstacles on the road to achieving the second centenary goal. They are the decisive factors for the development of the cause of the Party and country in the new era and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
It is noteworthy that in a keynote speech to the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, which was held via video link, Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), calling for respect for the diversity of civilizations. With the theme of “Path Towards Modernization: the Responsibility of Political Parties”, the virtual meeting gathered representatives from more than 500 political parties, political organizations, think tanks and media from across the globe. World political leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, also participated in the meeting. Xi said that tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity’s modernization process, as all countries and their future are now closely connected.
“Countries need to uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations and let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes and inclusiveness transcend any sense of superiority.” In the current turbulent milieu, besides the GCI, two more ingenuities proposed by Xi Jinping merit mention: The Global Development Initiative (GDI), unveiled by the Chinese Paramount Leader in a speech at the UN General Assembly in September 2021 and The Global Security Initiative (GSI), which was announced by China’s President in April 2022 at the BOAO Forum. The GDI outlines China’s vision to be a leader in global development efforts and aims to support developing countries in poverty alleviation, public health and other issues, while the GSI is meant to ‘uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture and oppose the building of national security based on insecurity in other countries’. Thus, the world has its eyes focused on China, because its progress has a direct consequence on the world and we wish the people of China a bright future under the incredible leadership of Xi Jinping.
—The writer is a Retired Group Captain of PAF, who has written several books on China.
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