Will culture be China’s most important addition to Xi Jinping Thought?

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ideology on culture was officially unveiled at the weekend, signalling a further escalation in his status, as well as a more systemic approach to implementing his vision for the country’s cultural and communications landscape.

Named Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the latest addition to Xi’s ever-growing set of political doctrines was put forward formally at a two-day national meeting of senior leadership in Beijing, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

Xi’s thoughts on culture – which encompass propaganda, news and public opinion – form the doctrine’s sixth pillar, alongside the economy, diplomacy, military, environment and legal affairs.

The weekend’s propaganda, ideology and culture works meeting was chaired by Xi’s chief of staff Cai Qi, a member of the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, and attended by hundreds of the country’s most important propaganda officials.

According to Xinhua, the meeting urged the strengthening of “positive publicity”, a stronger capacity to “guide public opinion”, and more effective promotion of the influence of Chinese culture internationally.

Xi Jinping’s chief of staff Cai Qi, who is also a Politburo member, brought with him a written instruction from the Chinese leader to the national meeting on the work of public communication and culture, held on October 7-8. Photo: Xinhua

The meeting also issued a call to be effectively “dissolving risks of ideology” and “daring to struggle”, as well as “daring to show the sword”, Xinhua said.

A written instruction from Xi, read to the meeting by Cai, called for the propaganda, ideological and cultural system to focus on the “primary political task of arming the whole party and educating the people with the party’s innovative theories”.

In the note, Xi stressed the need for solid efforts to strengthen the party’s leadership over the work of public communication and culture, Xinhua said.

“[We shall] focus on building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, focus on cultivating socialist core values, and focus on improving the dissemination, guidance, influence and credibility of news and public opinion,” he said.

Xi also called for the development of China’s international communication capabilities to be strengthened, as well as the promotion of exchanges and mutual learning between civilisations to “continuously enhance the country’s cultural soft power and the appeal of Chinese culture”.

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The meeting was convened seven months after Xi secured a groundbreaking third presidential term, which was closely followed by a fresh campaign for officials around the country to study Xi’s ideology.

At the meeting, party propaganda chief Li Shulei laid out the vast propaganda, ideology and cultural system’s work plans to learn the new thought. Also attending were vice-premier Shen Yiqin and Tie Ning, President of the China Writers Association.

Xie Maosong, a senior research fellow at Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, said the latest aspect of Xi Jinping Thought system is “perhaps the most important and most encompassing” of the whole system.

“Xi has been trying to build this crucial bridge from the party to the people’s hearts and minds. Compared to other tactical or strategic aspects of Xi Jinping Thought … the cultural aspect is much more fundamental to the party’s leadership,” he said.

“It wants to strengthen the party’s own ideological framework, boost the confidence of the Chinese people in the Chinese way of governance, while spreading the appeal of Chinese culture and the China model internationally.”

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According to Alfred Wu, an associate professor with the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, party propagandists will be “burning the midnight oil” in coming months.

Extensive study sessions on the new pillar will be a way for propaganda officials to show their loyalty, he said.

“Xi’s thought is the only doctrine guiding specific fronts … Party officials will be busy learning these in coming months as more study material [is] churned out.”

South China Morning Post