The Unravelling of China - Xi Jinping's Legacy

 

Since its opening up in the 1980s under the visionary leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China has undergone unprecedented economic growth and development. Deng's prudent guidelines for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) - "keep a low profile, hide your strength, beg, borrow, steal technology, make yourself stronger, bide your time" - paved the way for China's phenomenal rise on the global stage. His consensus-driven rule ensured stability and prosperity for the nation.

However, the dawn of Xi Jinping's era marked a departure from Deng's pragmatic approach. Unlike his predecessor, Xi pursued an ambitious agenda to assert China as a global power, purging political opponents and consolidating power akin to Mao Zedong. This shift towards centralized authority isolated Xi at the helm, leading to a lack of accurate reporting from his ministers, who often echoed his desires rather than presenting impartial advice.

Under Xi's leadership, China abandoned Deng's cautious diplomacy and embraced an aggressive stance, leveraging its economic prowess prematurely. The overconfidence in China's economic success led to aggressive diplomatic tactics, including "wolf warrior diplomacy," which ultimately backfired, alienating potential allies and straining international relations.

Despite China's economic growth, its dependence on technology transfer from the West has left it without a significant technological edge over its rivals. While the CCP's relentless pursuit of technology acquisition through illicit means has bolstered its capabilities, the lack of emphasis on indigenous research and development has hindered China's long-term technological advancement.

Xi's dictatorial tendencies and aggressive foreign policy have further exacerbated China's challenges. His aspiration to challenge American hegemony and establish China as a superpower neglected the reality of China's middle-income trap and export-driven economy. Moreover, Xi's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in China's economic model, highlighting the risks of overreliance on a single country for global supply chains.

The Belt and Road Initiative, once hailed as a symbol of China's global ambition, has drawn criticism for its unsustainable development loans and debt-trap diplomacy. As China's economy faces downturns and foreign investors lose trust due to Xi's crackdown on private industry, the CCP's grip on power becomes increasingly precarious.

Xi Jinping's pursuit of absolute power has led to the erosion of trust in China, both domestically and internationally. His policies have accelerated China's decline rather than propelling it towards global dominance. The erosion of trust in China's economic and political stability has prompted foreign investors to seek alternative markets, exacerbating China's economic woes.

In conclusion, Xi Jinping's ambitious pursuit of absolute power has undermined China's economic and political stability, leading to its downfall on the global stage. While some of the CCP's earlier policies contributed to China's challenges, Xi's autocratic rule exacerbated these issues, illustrating the detrimental impact of unchecked ambition on a nation's trajectory. As China grapples with economic uncertainties and waning international trust, the legacy of Xi Jinping serves as a cautionary tale of the perils of unchecked authoritarianism.