BEIJING - What sort of science fiction does Xi Jinping like? How can China's weathermen use the president's political philosophy to improve their forecasts? In what ways can"Xi Thought" help prepare the country for the next big earthquake?
Once Xi has own"-ism," the theory goes, he'll be elevated to a political standing on par with Mao Zedong, whose portrait hangs over Tiananmen Square and is printed on the currency. It will also make it all-the-more difficult to question his edicts. More than 20 applications of Xi Thought on everything from economic management and military reform to controlling the media and the arts that have appeared in state media since 2018, according to Qian Gang, director of University of Hong Kong's China Media Project.
More on this topic Companies get in line That's forcing companies, agencies and schools to contemplate what Xi-ism means for them. Where Mao Zedong Thought was geared towards adapting Marxist-Leninism to a pre-industrial society, Xi Thought is concerned with maintaining party control more than four decades after China opened to the world and began to experiment with market forces.
During a visit by Xi last week to the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong, provincial party secretary Li Xi vowed to"raise high the great banner" of Xi's thinking, making him the latest Politburo member to pledge loyalty in similar terms. More on this topic The process prioritises conformity with the leader's views over immediate results in any given field. Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared"Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy" a total success in the August issue of the party journal Seeking Truth, even as negative views of China surged after its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and crackdowns on dissent in places like Hong Kong and Xinjiang.