China’s twice-a-decade party congress has come to a close. In the imposing Great Hall of the People, China’s seat of power, President Xi Jinping introduced to the world the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of the Party-State — Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng.
A 25-member Politburo forms the next layer of leadership, followed by the 204-member Central Committee — the feeder talent pool, distilled from a party with 89 million members. Against the backdrop of a giant Chinese painting, Mr. Xi’s team made a carefully choreographed appearance on a vast red carpet. The President smiled and waved at the selected media pool assembled hours in advance in the spacious hall.
Mr. Xi, flanked by his dark-suited team, spoke eloquently about the dawn of new “era” in his country. China is now looking at 2050, when it hopes to accomplish all-round development. In 2021, in tune with the centenary of the Communist Party, China aspires to become a “moderately” prosperous country. That status would have to be consolidated by 2035. From then on, China would be on the home stretch to accomplish its 2050 dream of civilisational “rejuvenation”. Mr. Xi’s dream team was emblematic of China’s abiding faith in meritocracy, rooted in its history.
The emphasis on rule by a gifted elite can be traced back to Confucius. Mr. Xi fits naturally into China’s new-age meritocracy. But so does the rest of the Standing Committee. He graduated from China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, majoring in Marxist theory and ideological and political education. Li Keqiang, the Prime Minister, also has top academic qualifications. He graduated in economics from Peking University, and followed it up with a doctorate.
Li Zhanshu, Mr. Xi’s right hand man during his first term, has an executive master’s degree in business administration. Wang Yang also has a master’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China. China’s chief ideologist, Wang Huning, is a post-graduate in law from Shanghai’s Fudan University. Zhao Leji majored in philosophy from Peking University, followed by a master’s degree. Han Zheng, the departing Party Secretary of Shanghai, has a master’s from East China Normal University.
“We are witnessing the return of a more historical and humanistic perspective on the world, an emphasis on education, a concern for family across several generations, and a new assessment of the value of China’s tradition of political meritocracy,” says Daniel Bell, author of the best seller, The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy .
Growing sophistication
In an interview with The Diplomat magazine, he highlights that for long, the Chinese have believed in “the selection and promotion of leaders with superior abilities, ethical qualities and social and cultural skills” who are best equipped to exercise leadership. “The perspective has Confucian roots, but it has been modernised and has been the core of the strategy for economic development in China and other East Asian countries.”
The return of Confucianism and meritocracy signals growing sophistication in Chinese ideology, where Marxism also appears re-energised. It was therefore not accidental that before the 19th CPC Congress folded up, it was announced that the Second World Congress on Marxism would be held in Peking University next May. The congress would coincide with the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth and the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up.
(Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing)
