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The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State

By

Lizzie McGowan

Dr. Elizabeth Economy, C. V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations provided valuable insight on China’s long term goals and current social and political climate. Its rapid growth and expansive influence in Asia has led it to be one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world. Moreover, it has the largest standing in army and second largest economy in the world. Its rise to power is an indication they are largely meeting their economic and political goals. Further, it is a sign that its leadership has remained committed to ensuring that China maintains its global position in international affairs.  

China’s rise to power has been bolstered by President Xi Jinping’s quest for absolute rule and rooting out corruption. He has consolidated power and launched the largest anti-corruption campaign in over 40 years. As a result, multiple arrests have been made within his political party. However, some say he has done this to oust his rivals, and with their conviction rate being at 99%, it is safe to say that he has eliminated any competition. In fact, he has assumed control over all government commissions to micromanage them, squash any potential adversaries within his party, and ensure that his vision for China is executed. Further, he broke tradition and failed to signal who his successor. Consequently, he got rid of term limits and can remain in power indefinitely.

As part of President Xi’s s latest venture to monitor the Chinese people, he has created a new surveillance and social credit system. They are currently building infrastructure to have 650 million cameras to monitor and rate citizens on their behavior.  Thus, if the police caught someone either Jaywalking or riding a train without the correct ticket, they would face fines and “lower social scores.” It can also determine where a person lives, what schools their children go to, and adversely affect job prospects) )This new system of scrutiny rashon social mobility and squash potential uprisings) Maybe elaborate briefly as a new paragraph and clarify it in the paragraph

Dr. Economy elaborated on the new pressures placed on domestic and foreign businesses to be  with the Chinese . China’s goal is to control where investors put their money and to ensure that Chinese geopolitical interests are being met. There are also efforts to censor books from foreign writers used in colleges to prevent "influence from outside forces." They fear exposure to western thought can incite protests and social and political disruption. Not only is the Chinese government censoring literature in educational institutions, but they are also attempting to control information on the internet. They are increasingly becoming more restrictive working to strengthen their firewalls so that its citizens can stop circumventing it to access outside information.

China's aggressive behavior in the South China Sea is also cause for concern. Currently, China is  racing to build man-made islands with military bases and laying claim to contested territories with  that their Southeast Asian neighbors. China’s actions have resulted in a maritime dispute that consistently favors China due to their Naval superiority.

China is also launching an aggressive feat with the Belt One Road that will connect Asian countries to China in order to efficiently trade its goods. Essentially, it is the new silk road. As China builds more infrastructure in more countries, they expand their global presence. However, they charge exorbitant fees that the host country will never be able to pay back. These deals are attractive because they of China’s “no strings attached” policy.

Due to its expansionist activists, there has been resentment that China is expanding its sphere of influence in order to establish a new Empire.  “Additionally, China has only been hiring Chinese workers, and not local residents, to build this new silk road.Consequently, its actions have sparkes the rise of Chinophobia and made other states and their citizens to question whether they will have “mutually beneficial” relationships with China.