Deng Xiaoping

Chinese President Jiang Zemin waves from his car following talks with Laurent Fabius, speaker of the French National Assembly, in Paris, France, 25 October 1999. (Charles Platiau/File Photo/Reuters)

Jiang Zemin: The Chinese leader whose achievements outweighed the shortcomings

US academic Zhu Zhiqun gives an assessment of the late former President Jiang Zemin’s policies during his time leading China throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures after the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. (Rungroj Yongrit/Pool via Reuters)

The Real Xi: Reflections on the 20th Party Congress

Vienna-based Li Ling observes that while it seems that Chinese President Xi Jinping has removed all obstacles to his rule, actually the outcomes of the 20th Party Congress has shown another side of him: a level-headed and even disciplined man who can act in a measured and controlled fashion. Being able to show restraint while holding on to great power will be a delicate balance that one has to strike in Xi’s “new era”.
In this file photo taken on 12 March 2018, a propaganda poster showing China's President Xi Jinping is displayed on a wall in Beijing, China. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)

[Party and the man] Ditching presidential term limit an exception not the rule

While some consider Xi Jinping’s departure from the two-term presidential limit a sign of a descent into dictatorship, many fail to see that for China’s particular juncture in history, a deep centralisation of power is necessary, and Xi Jinping is very possibly the resolute leader needed to do it. However, this also means that China’s political future could go either way, either morphing into a new integration of democracy, rule of law and good governance, or being locked in a system that makes absolute power possible. This is the last in a series of four articles on President Xi Jinping and the road ahead.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stands near former Chinese presidents Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Keqiang on Tiananmen Gate during the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China, 1 October 2019. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

How Xi Jinping consolidated power over the past decade

As the 20th Party Congress approaches, Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan looks at the power game in China. He examines evolving rhetorics and terms used by Chinese leaders since Mao, and reflects on the way President Xi Jinping has consolidated and enshrined power in the past decade.
People pass by portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong, in Shanghai, China, 31 August 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

[State of our world] From Three Worlds to Four: Mao’s revised theory of an emerging global order?

Russian academic Artyom Lukin revisits Mao’s Three Worlds Theory to explain that while the world looks to be on the cusp of great change, the paradigms of the past can still inform the future. Much will depend on the “fourth world” of Russia and other perceived US adversaries who are drawing closer to China. This is the third in a series of four articles contemplating a changing world order.
A woman rides a bicycle along a street in Beijing, China, on 6 April 2022. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Why China's 'peaceful rise' will be particularly difficult

EAI academic Lance Gore notes that China’s “peaceful rise” is a particular hard sell because it involves the rise of a major heterogeneous civilisational power, which is different from the mere transfer of hegemony between states from the same civilisation. Thus China needs to work on gaining acceptance from the international community by conveying the merits of its civilisational traits and avoiding pitfalls such as a reversion to cultural dead wood or failed Marxist orthodoxy.
People wearing face masks stand in front of a painting of late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong, while waiting in line to enter a flagship merchandise store for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics before it opens, on Wangfujing Street in Beijing, China, 9 February 2022. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Are the Chinese people the true masters of their country?

Lance Gore reflects on what Chinese Communist Party cadres today understand by the phrase “Serve the People”, stating that people in positions of power could either serve the people slavishly or ride roughshod over them. The impetus to do right by the populace is simply not ensured. As the authorities seek to get the people more involved in “whole-process democracy”, they will need to consider how the regime’s affinity with the people may be maintained in the absence of electoral democracy.
Wang Gungwu and Malaysia (2021). (Photo provided by Peter Chang)

Wang Gungwu and Malaysia: Building an intellectual bridge to China

Tracing the evolution of China’s development, Malaysian academic Peter T.C. Chang pays tribute to historian Wang Gungwu and his contributions to the study of Chinese overseas. Wang continues to play a major role in the field as a member of a pioneering class of bridge-building scholars who are adept at explaining China to the world, and the world to China. This is an edited version of the book chapter “A Pioneering Class of Bridge-Building Junzi” from the book Wang Gungwu and Malaysia (2021) published by the University of Malaya Press.
People have their dinner at a restaurant as a screen broadcasts Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering his New Year speech in Beijing, China, on 31 December 2021. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Can Xi Jinping ride the tiger year with success?

A Chinese idiom says: If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off! Since being handed the reins by the Communist Party of China a decade ago, Xi Jinping hasn’t experienced “the year of the tiger” according to the Chinese zodiac. He will be riding into the tiger year this crucial year of 2022. Speculations are running high in China as everyone is asking: does Xi know how to get off a tiger?