Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想), also referred to as “Xi Jinping Thought,” is the official political theory that guides policy development by the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
History
The term was officially launched at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, which marked the first five years of Xi’s tenure as General Secretary of the CCP.
Xi first made reference to “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Year” in the speech he delivered on the opening day of the Congress, while the Politburo Standing Committee subsequently began to employ the term “Xi Jinping Thought.”
The 19th Congress officially endorsed Xi Jinping thought as the political and military ideology of the CCP following a vote of unanimous support by delegates.
At its closing session on 24 October 2017, the 19th National CCP Congress voted for Xi Jinping thought to be incorporated into the party constitution.
On 11 March 2018, the opening session of the 13th National People’s Congress voted in favour of amendments to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China that included the incorporation of Xi Jinping Thought.
While it has become a tradition for paramount leaders of the People’s Republic of China to introduce their own signature doctrines to the official body of CCP ideology, Xi is only the third such politician after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping to introduce a theory that bears his own name.
Xi Jinping Thought expands upon the concept of “socialism with Chinese characteristics” that was first introduced in the Deng Xiaoping area, and is officially considered to be part of a CCP ideological tradition consisting of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, Jiang Zemin’s Three Represents, and Hu Jintao’s Scientific Development Perspective.
Since the incorporation of of Xi Jinping thought into the CCP Constitution, rapid strides have been made to promulgate the ideology across China.
On 27 November 2017 over 100 members of China’s entertainment industry, including directors, actors and recording artists, gathered in Hangzhou to study Xi Jinping thought as part of the 19th CCP Report.
Many Chinese tertiary institutions have also established their own research faculties dedicated to the study of Xi Jinping Thought.
Key Contents
Liu Yunshan (刘云山), a retired politician who was formerly a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, has said that Xi Jinping Thought encompasses a comprehensive range of areas, in clouding economics, politics, the rule of law, science and technology, culture, education, ethnicity, religion, society, ecology, national security, national defence, “One Country Two Systems”, foreign relations and party establishment.
At its core Xi Jinping Thought affirms a total of eight key points: