Dominik Mierzejewski Joanna Nawrotkiewicz
10.01.2022
2021 marks the centennial anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. In November, the Central Committee issued only the third “Resolution of the Central Committee of the CCP on Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party's Centennial Struggle” in its history. In 1945, as quoted by his personal secretary Hu Qiaomu, Mao Zedong said: “It is not easy for us to include 25 years of history in this historical resolution (…)”. Writing and rewriting history has always been a challenging process, but the ultimate goal was to cement the paramount leader position inside the party’s structures.
Through drafting the document, the central leadership can check how fast it can proceed with centralization or decentralization of power and check what kind of history might be included in the resolution in order not to damage consensus within the party. Interestingly, the last resolution does not criticize the previous paramount figures but Xi, Mao and Deng are considered glorious because they led the country to achieve “the tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong”. But what should be noted the resolution strengthens the position of Xi Jinping, that compare to Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping seems to be stronger.
In the 1945 Resolution, Mao is portrayed as an exceptional leader of the CCP and the creator of Maoism. The resolution details his role in building the "correct political line" and eliminating "hostile thinking patterns" within the party. It was through him that the party first "reached its current level of consolidation and unity" ideologically, politically, organizationally, and militarily, making it an "unbeatable force". In expounding the CCP's strategy, the reference to Mao was proof of the validity of all of the theses. One must also note the presence of the chairman as the "providential husband" at the Zunyi Conference. Mao's seizure of power signalled a new era in the CCP's history. He was placed right next to Stalin, whom he was supposed to imitate in his management of the state, for example concerning land reform.
Out of the three leaders, Deng Xiaoping was the least mentioned in the 1981 resolution. In line with historical realities, Deng was placed on an equal footing with Peng Zhen, Luo Ruiqing, Lu Dingyi, Yang Shangkun and Liu Shaoqi, who was then described as "China's Khrushchev No. 1", while Deng Xiaoping was assigned number two. Deng's position was also discussed about the death of Zhou Enlai, after whom he was to take over and "under Mao's guidance lead the state." This was followed by the context of "riots after Zhou Enlai's death". The suppression of protests in the spring of 1975 was described by the resolution as a "mistake" that led to Deng's removal from power. After the arrest of the "Gang of Four," As Deng Xiaoping faced internal opposition who were against reforms, the resolution strengthened his position. The resolution mentions only once that Deng was "a candidate for the principal leader in the State Council," but this is also about the situation during the "Cultural Revolution" when he became deputy prime minister in October 1974. Although Deng was only presented in a historical light, this was undoubtedly an important bargaining chip in the power struggle with Hua Guofeng, who was seen as representing a continuation of Mao Zedong's ideology. Deng won, although as a victim of the "Cultural Revolution" and a politician anointed by Zhou Enlai, with no mention of his actual position in the CCP at the time, he was initially seen as having less of a chance of victory.
Compared to Deng and the 1981 Resolution, Xi Jinping is mentioned far more often in the 2021 Resolution, even approaching Mao and the 1945 Resolution in this regard. However, the resolution has less historical context than the previous two, with the remainder of the resolution acting as a discussion of the current president's merits. Like Mao, Xi is presented as an outstanding leader. His guiding party role is emphasized repeatedly, as is his thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics, described as "the Marxism of modern China and the twenty-first century." The document for the first time acknowledges its authorship by the CCP with Xi at its head - until now it was a joint product of the Party and the people. The similarities to Mao do not end there - the resolution creates a cult of Xi in a manner similar to the 1945 document. It is no coincidence that the beginning of a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics (also referred to as a historic turning point) was marked at the 18th Session of the National People's Congress when Xi assumed the position of CCP General Secretary. The current PRC chairman is expected to stand alone behind a number of the resolution's proposals and strategies on national revival, security, ideology, and the Taiwan issue, among others, as a result of his "meticulous evaluation and deep reflection." The resolution also repeatedly reiterates the need to maintain Xi's leadership of the Party to achieve these goals; moreover, it warns against a lack of effort in achieving these set tasks. In order not to disrupt the work, one must conform ideologically and politically, which has unfortunately been a problem in the past, as many CCP members have undergone a "crisis of political conviction." Importantly, the phrase 信仰 (xinyang) is used here, which also occurs in a religious context, by which the phrase can be translated as "crisis of political belief." The use of "faith" is an absolute novelty in the three resolutions. In the 1945 resolution, it appeared only once in the context of "faith in the people's revolution", while “faith” again appeared only once in 1981’s resolution but in a negative sense, as if Deng Xiaoping's "four principles" did not need to be challenged. is the 2021 resolution marks a substantial change, as faith in the current leader appears repeatedly. Party members are expected to be "strong believers and loyal practitioners" of Xi Jinping's thoughts on "socialism with Chinese characteristics of the new era."
This “faith” approach goes together with “zi wo geming” (自我革命) and partly refers to the self-cultivation taken from the Chinese civilization, only mentioned in the last resolution, which urged the party members to “cultivate self-revolutionary spirit”. Interestingly, the 2021 Resolution is the only one of the three that discusses Chinese civilization but of course, it is placed alongside Chinese socialism and the leaders’ contribution to Marxism-Leninism. Followed by bringing faith inside the party, the resolution presents the solutions with “two establishments” (liangge queli 两个确立): The party established Comrade Xi Jinping as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core position of the entire party and established Xi Jinping’s guiding position in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This approach should remind of the two whatevers (liangge fanshi 两个凡是) campaign, promoted by Hua Guofeng, which tried to follow Mao Zedong’s line without any adjustments and flexibility.
The differences between Mao, Deng and Xi position inside the party bring us to the conclusion that the position of Xi Jinping is the strongest, however as previously not omnipotent. With the usage of the new technologies, the current leader might create the believers that monitored and stimulated would follow the party instructions. As previously under utopian thinking of Mao might be difficult to implement.