“Xi Jinping Thought”

X i Jinping's full report to the 19 th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress in October 2017 seeks to "ensure and improve living standards through sustainable development;" China's relatively slow growth rate since 2009 has required a rebalancing of its economy away from investment-led growth and towards a more consumption-driven economy, "the new normal." This phrase has been commonly used in China to indicate the importance of this recalibration. Some argue the recalibration has "stalled" due to the persistence of corruption, a volatile domestic stock market, and the challenges of crucial reforms in the stateowned sector. At the same time, power is tightly held by the one-party system, and the underlying values of this ideology create an intriguing context for examining tension-points in the contested space over global influence between China and the US, with the latter remaining (for the moment) the world's biggest economy. Now that the National People's Congress amended the Constitution to remove presidential term limits (enabling General-Secretary Xi to retain power indefinitely), Xi holds more power than any Chinese leader before him except perhaps Mao Zedong. Significantly, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) backed the NPC's move, giving Xi a "tight grip on the gun against potential political backlash and popular dissent." In 2017, the 19 th Party Congress officially incorporated "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" (Xi Jinping xin shidai zhongguo tese shehui zhuyi sixiang ) into the CCP constitution. (4) Xi Jinping Thought (Xi Jinping sixiang ), as it is simply known, is based on his "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy" (si ge quanmian zhanle buju ; hereafter "Four Comprehensives"). The Four Comprehensives encompasses the interrelated narratives of 1. Building a moderately prosperous society, 2. Deepening reform, 3. Governing the nation according to law, and 4. Tightening party discipline. The purpose of the Four Comprehensives is to continue building socialism with Chinese characteristics. This strategy's grand aims to "build a moderately prosperous society, deepen reform, govern the nation according to law, and tighten Party discipline" Further, the four interrelated prongs represent a key to Xi Jinping Thought; together, the prongs position the CCP at the centre of every aspect of economic development, social cohesion, law, and governance, and as a totalising discourse, give little room for dissent. This paper's purpose is to describe the "four-pronged comprehensives strategy," and to critically appraise key tension points and obstacles to its implementation.