The Chinese Communist Party recently commemorated Deng Xiaoping’s 120th birthday with great fanfare, with party leader Xi Jinping calling Deng the “chief architect of reform, opening up, and modernization.” However, Xi’s policies since taking office are often seen as a departure from Deng’s legacy, with many experts analyzing that both Deng and Xi’s actions are ultimately aimed at “protecting the CCP,” albeit through different approaches in varying environments and historical stages.
This past Thursday (August 22nd) marked the 120th anniversary of the late Chinese Communist Party second-generation leader Deng Xiaoping. Authorities have been publishing articles, releasing books, hosting seminars, and even issuing commemorative stamps in honor of Deng. The Chinese postal service released commemorative stamps, and the movie “Deng Xiaoping’s Little Way” was re-screened nationwide as part of the various ways in which the CCP celebrated Deng Xiaoping.
During the commemorative symposium held on that day, Xi Jinping attended and delivered a speech, emphasizing the need to apply Deng Xiaoping’s theories to “further deepen comprehensive reform and continuously provide strong impetus and institutional guarantees for China’s modernization.”
In response to the CCP’s high-profile review of Deng’s governing legacy during the 120th anniversary, Ming Chu-cheng, an honorary professor of political science at Taiwan University, told reporters that since Xi Jinping took office, many people had high expectations for him in terms of reforms. People were hoping for Xi Jinping’s reforms, including during the 20th Central Committee’s third plenary session, but nobody was satisfied even though the CCP’s official media promoted Xi as a reformer.
“Xi Jinping must consider himself a reformer!” Why?
Ming Chu-cheng said, “Because he sees himself as a reformer who corrects errors, but his definition of reform differs from the outside world’s. The outside world imagines reform as loosening controls. Xi Jinping believes the previous leaders had been too lenient, leading to society becoming too liberal where even the CCP can no longer control. So, he aims to rein it in, which is his idea of reform.”
Ming Chu-cheng observed Xi Jinping for about a year after coming to power and concluded that Xi Jinping would tighten control. Not only has he continued to tighten control, but he has also begun retracing his steps. Xi Jinping believes he needs to rectify past mistakes, which he perceives as true reform.
Commentator Tang Jingyuan told reporters that many view Xi Jinping as subverting Deng Xiaoping’s policies. Tang believes that on the surface, Xi Jinping’s actions appear to contrast with Deng Xiaoping’s. Deng Xiaoping focused on economic liberalization, while Xi Jinping emphasizes control and authority. Deng Xiaoping advocated collective leadership, whereas Xi Jinping advocates centralized leadership. During the times of Deng, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao, the state receded, but under Xi Jinping, private enterprise has faced suppression and restrictions, with a shift towards the state sector. However, Tang Jingyuan considers these differences as superficial.
Tang Jingyuan further explained, “Deng Xiaoping’s reforms were initially support for Zhao Ziyang, a half-hearted stance. The reforms relaxed economic controls but maintained the CCP’s political system unchanged.”
“To put it simply, Deng Xiaoping inherited Mao Zedong’s political line. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the entire CCP system was on the brink of collapse. Deng sought to sustain the party and the CCP, leading to a partial rejection of Mao Zedong’s policies to allow the CCP to continue governing.”
Discussing the 120th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s passing, the CCP authorities commemorated Deng Xiaoping through articles, issuing stamps, hosting seminars, and re-screening movies. Radio Free Asia commented that these activities by the authorities could be interpreted as a political signal of “flashing the right signal but turning left.”
In response, Huang Qinglong, Chairman of the Taiwan Association for Cross-Strait Relations, told reporters that one should first understand Deng Xiaoping’s reforms within the context of showing a left turn signal but turning right.
Huang Qinglong said, “Deng Xiaoping proposed the Four Cardinal Principles and famously said it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice, advocating for pragmatism. Even after the events of June 4th, he embarked on a Southern Tour to get the reform and opening up, and market economy back on track. So, he was indeed signaling left but turning right, which is a vivid depiction.”
According to Voice of America’s reports, analysts believe the CCP’s recent high-profile commemorations of Deng Xiaoping are part of Xi Jinping’s sleight of hand, attempting to align his proposals for “Chinese-style modernization” with Deng Xiaoping’s deeply ingrained legacy of “reform and opening up.”
In response, Huang Qinglong remarked, “Xi Jinping has been advocating for ‘reform and opening up’ in recent years but in practice has been leaning towards ‘state-owned enterprises advancing while private ones retreat.’ He has been very reserved regarding the market economy, emphasizing the dominance of the public sector and continuously suppressing private enterprises. So, although he talks about reform, it’s like signaling right and turning left, with clear contradictions between his words and actions.”
Wu Guoguang, a scholar residing in Canada and a former official within the Chinese Communist Party system, wrote in an article for Voice of America that it was Deng Xiaoping who preserved the roots of the CCP and Mao Zedong in his policies, paving the way for Xi Jinping’s rise. In essence, there is a continuity between them, with no fundamental differences.
Tang Jingyuan found this analogy reasonable, stating, “We all know that Mao Zedong’s core belief was in the immutability of the communist ideology, maintaining a highly authoritarian and totalitarian regime. It remains unchanged.”
Ming Chu-cheng pointed out that communist systems tend to easily breed dictators, even though there might have been relatively enlightened leaders like Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. People often assume who the last dictator will be, but as Zhao Ziyang, former CCP leader, noted, they thought the system would always progress forward without regression. The system itself allows for significant backsliding.
Tang Jingyuan continued, “Even though Deng Xiaoping pursued ‘reform and opening up,’ he always staunchly believed in socialism. At its peak, he repeatedly emphasized ‘one center, two basic points,’ maintaining socialism as the foundation, an unchangeable system. Party leadership was untouchable.”
Tang Jingyuan emphasized that from Mao Zedong’s impoverished era to Deng Xiaoping’s period of cautious reform, relying on Western capitalism, and to Xi Jinping now believing it’s the right time to take action. “He believes pretending is no longer necessary and futile. Therefore, he is showing his fangs to the West, ready to take drastic actions.”
Huang Qinglong acknowledged that Deng Xiaoping indeed practiced restraint while implementing reform and opening up. He persisted in upholding the CCP’s one-party dictatorship, indicating little divergence between him and Xi Jinping.
Tang Jingyuan concluded by stating that Xi Jinping now aims to truly achieve Mao Zedong’s goal of spreading the red flag worldwide, with Xi Jinping’s vision termed as the “community of common destiny for mankind.”
“Therefore, from Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping, and now to Xi Jinping, their underlying logic and core objectives have remained constant in viewing the United States and the free world as enemies, targets they seek to subvert and replace, which has never changed.”