Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly abbreviated outside China as Xi Jinping Thought or Xi'ism, is an ideological doctrine created during General Secretary Xi Jinping's leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that combines Chinese Marxism and national rejuvenation. According to the CCP, Xi Jinping Thought "builds on and further enriches" previous party ideologies and has also been called as the "Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century". It consists of 14-point fundamental principles, which were announced together with Xi Jinping Thought.

It was first officially mentioned at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017, in which it was incorporated into the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party, leading to a further elevation of Xi's status in the CCP. At the first session of the 13th National People's Congress on 11 March 2018, the preamble of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China was amended to mention Xi Jinping Thought.

History and development
The first official mention of the term was at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party having gradually been developed since 2012, when Xi became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (China's paramount leader). Some news sources have stated that Xi helped create this ideology together with his close advisor Wang Huning. The first indications of Xi's platform had come out in a speech titled "Some Questions on Maintaining and Developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" given to the newly elected Central Committee on 5 January 2013, and was later published by Central Documents Press and the journal Qiushi.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics 

Much of Xi Jinping Thought comes from Xi's 2013 speech, delivered a month after he became the CCP General Secretary. Beginning his speech, Xi said:"First of all: Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not any other “ism.” The guiding principles of scientific socialism thus cannot be abandoned. Our Party has always emphasized adherence to the basic principles of scientific socialism, but adapted to the particular conditions of China. This means that socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not some other doctrine... It was Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought that guided the Chinese people out of the long night and established a New China, and it was socialism with Chinese characteristics that led to the rapid development of China."

According to Xi, "the consolidation and development of the socialist system will require its own long period of history... it will require the tireless struggle of generations, up to ten generations." On the relationship with capitalist nations, Xi said, "Marx and Engels' analysis of the basic contradictions in capitalist society is not outdated, nor is the historical materialist view that capitalism is bound to die out and socialism is bound to win." Xi also stated: "The fundamental reason why some of our comrades have weak ideals and faltering beliefs is that their views lack a firm grounding in historical materialism."

Xi showed great interest in why the Soviet Union dissolved, and how to avoid that failure in China:
Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fall from power? An important reason was that the struggle in the field of ideology was extremely intense, completely negating the history of the Soviet Union, negating the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, negating Lenin, negating Stalin, creating historical nihilism and confused thinking. Party organs at all levels had lost their functions, the military was no longer under Party leadership. In the end, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a great party, was scattered, the Soviet Union, a great socialist country, disintegrated. This is a cautionary tale!
The concepts behind Xi Jinping Thought were elaborated in Xi's The Governance of China book series, published by the Foreign Languages Press for an international audience. Volume one was published in September 2014, followed by volume two in November 2017, followed by volume three in June 2020, followed by volume four in July 2022. Xi has praised Karl Marx as "the greatest thinker of modern times" whose teachings enlightened the working classes of the world and has called upon party cadres to adopt Marxist revolutionary principles as a "way of life".

Speech at the 19th Congress 
Xi first used the phrase "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" in his speech delivered on the opening day of the 19th Party Congress in October 2017. The Politburo Standing Committee (top decision-making body) then prepended "Xi Jinping" to the phrase, in their review of his speech. The Congress then affirmed Xi's speech as a guiding political and military ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and approved its incorporation into the constitution of the party, with unanimous support in a show of hands.

The incorporation made Xi the third Chinese leader (after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping) to have their names incorporated into the list of fundamental doctrines of the CCP. This demonstrated that Xi was more influential than his two predecessors as General Secretary (Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin). Xi promised to make China strong, propelling the country into a "new era".

Further developments 
In 2021, the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party approved of a historical resolution, which declared Xi Jinping Thought "a new breakthrough in the Sinicization of Marxism."

Content 
Xi Jinping Thought consists of a 14-point basic policy as follows:
 Ensuring Communist Party of China leadership over all forms of work in China.
 The Communist Party of China should take a people-centric approach for the public interest.
 The continuation of "comprehensive deepening of reforms".
 Adopting new science-based ideas for "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development".
 Following "socialism with Chinese characteristics" with "people as the masters of the country".
 Governing China with the Rule of Law. 
 "Practise socialist core values", including Marxism–Leninism and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
 "Improving people's livelihood and well-being is the primary goal of development".
 Coexist well with nature with "energy conservation and environmental protection" policies and "contribute to global ecological safety".
 Strengthen the national security of China.
 The Communist Party of China should have "absolute leadership over" China's People's Liberation Army.
 Promoting the one country, two systems system for Hong Kong and Macau with a future of "complete national reunification" and to follow the One-China principle and 1992 Consensus for Taiwan.
 Establish a common destiny between the Chinese people and other peoples around the world with a "peaceful international environment".
 Improve party discipline in the Communist Party of China

In economic matters, Xi Jinping thought highlights the historical importance of state-owned enterprises:In subsequent official party documentation and pronouncements by Xi's colleagues, the thought has been said to be a continuation of previous party ideologues, and it "builds on and further enriches" Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, "the important thought of the Three Represents" and the Scientific Outlook on Development as part of a series of guiding ideologies that embody "Marxism adapted to Chinese conditions".

Influence and reception 
Finding cultural expressions for Xi Jinping Thought has been a priority. On 27 November 2017, more than 100 of China's top filmmakers, actors and pop stars were gathered for a day in Hangzhou to study the report of the 19th Party Congress featuring Xi Jinping Thought.

Content from Xi's 2017 speech is used in public messages, described as being 'pervasive' by a Beijing correspondent for The New York Times. A poster featuring the slogan "Chinese Dream" comes from the speech, where the phrase is used 31 times. In July 2018, the carriages of a train in Changchun Subway were decked out in red and dozens of Xi's quotes to celebrate the 97th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party. The train was described as a "highly condensed spiritual manual" of Xi Jinping Thought by the local government. In January 2019, Alibaba Group released an app called Xuexi Qiangguo for studying Xi Jinping Thought.

In June 2023, the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia (ICCA) at the Russian Academy of Sciences opened the Modern Ideology of China Research Laboratory, the first research center dedicated to Xi Jinping Thought outside China. The ICCA director Kirill Babaev said that the institute aimed to conduct an "in-depth analysis of the ideas and concepts that make up the foundation of the modern Chinese state" and said that the institute would focus on "five areas of modern Chinese ideology – economic policy, internal policy and lawmaking, foreign policy and international relations, defence and security, and ecology and society".

In education 
By the end of 2017, dozens of Chinese universities had established research institutes for Xi Jinping Thought, applying Xi's stated principle of bringing the thought into all aspects of daily life. Academics such as Jiang Shigong went on to write expositions of Xi Jinping Thought. In December 2019, Fudan University added content concerning the inculcation of teachers and students in Xi Jinping Thought into its charter, leading to protests about academic freedom among the students.

In mid-2021, the Ministry of Education announced that Xi Jinping Thought would be taught to Chinese students beginning at the primary school level.

See also 
 Mao Zedong Thought
 Deng Xiaoping Theory
 Three Represents
 Scientific Outlook on Development
 Xi Jinping's cult of personality
 Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New era . A course on edX by Tsinghua University

 
Xi Jinping
Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
People's Republic of China culture
2010s establishments in China
2010s in China
Eponymous political ideologies
Contemporary Chinese philosophy
Political history of China
Types of socialism
State ideologies
Marxism–Leninism
Maoism
Chinese nationalism
21st century in philosophy
Totalitarianism
Authoritarianism
시진핑 신시대 중국 특색 사회주의 사상() 또는 간단히 시진핑 사상은 시진핑 중국 국가주석 겸 중국공산당 총서기가 제시한 정책이자 정치 이념이다. 2017년에 열린 제19차 중국공산당 전국대표대회에서 공식적으로 처음 언급되어 중국공산당 당헌에 수록되었으며 2018년 3월 11일에 열린 제13차 전국인민대표대회 제1차 회기에서 시진핑 사상을 언급한 《중화인민공화국 헌법》 전문 수정안이 채택되었다.

역사 
이 용어에 대한 공식적인 첫 언급은 2017년에 열린 제19차 중국공산당 전국대표대회였으며 시진핑 국가주석이 중국의 최고지도자에 오른 2012년부터 점차 발전해 왔다. 일부 소식통들은 시진핑 주석의 측근인 왕후닝이 이러한 이념을 만드는 데에 도움을 주었다고 전했다.

제19차 중국공산당 전국대표대회는 이 사상을 중국공산당의 정치·군사적 사상의 지도적 사상으로 결정하고 시진핑이 제시한 새로운 사회주의 사상을 중국공산당의 당헌에 수록하는 안건을 승인했다. 시진핑 주석이 전국인민대표대회에 대한 의견을 물었을 때에 모든 대의원들이 손을 들어 찬성표를 던지면서 만장일치의 지지를 받았다. 이로서 시진핑 주석은 마오쩌둥, 덩샤오핑에 이어 중국공산당의 근본 교리 목록에 이름을 올린 3번째 중국 최고지도자로 기록되었고 장쩌민, 후진타오 전 국가주석보다 높은 지위를 받았다. 시진핑 주석은 보고서에서 중국을 강대하게 만들어 중국을 '새로운 시대'로 이끌겠다고 약속했다.

시진핑 주석은 2017년 10월에 열린 제19차 중국공산당 전국대표대회 기조연설에서 "새로운 시대를 위한 중국적 특성을 가진 사회주의 사상"을 처음 언급했다. 시진핑 주석의 전국인민대표대회 기조연설 검토 과정에서는 중국공산당 중앙정치국 상무위원회 위원들이 '시진핑'이라고 서술한 것으로 알려졌다.

시진핑 주석은 이 사상을 덩샤오핑이 만든 용어인 중국 특색 사회주의를 중심으로 만들어지고 사회주의 초급 단계에서 중국을 두는 넓은 틀의 일부라고 표현해 왔다. 시진핑 주석의 동료들이 작성한 중국공산당의 공식 문서, 선언문에 따르면 이러한 사상이 마르크스-레닌주의, 마오쩌둥 사상, 덩샤오핑 이론, 삼개대표사상, 과학적 발전관의 뒤를 잇는 사상이자 중국 상황에 맞는 마르크스주의를 구현한 일련의 지도 이념의 일환이라고 한다.

전국인민대표대회가 시진핑 사상을 중국의 일상 생활 모든 분야에 대한 편입에 공을 들인 이후에 중국의 여러 대학들이 시진핑 사상 연구소를 설립했다. 또한 장스궁(强世功)과 같은 학자들은 시진핑 사상 해설서를 집필했다.

시진핑 사상의 개념은 외국의 독자들을 위해 외문출판사가 펴낸 시진핑의 저서 《시진핑 국정운영을 말하다》 시리즈에 자세히 소개되어 있다. 1권은 2014년 9월에 출간되었고 2권은 2017년 11월에 출간되었다. 마르크스주의의 부활은 시진핑 사상의 핵심 요소인데 시진핑 주석의 말에서 인류 역사상 가장 위대한 사상가에게 경의를 표하기 위해 카를 마르크스를 기념하고 마르크스주의의 과학적 진실에 대한 확고한 신념을 선언하기 위해 기념한다는 것이다.

구성 
시진핑 신시대 중국 특색 사회주의 사상은 다음과 같은 14가지 기본 정책으로 구성되어 있다.

 중국 내 모든 형태의 작업에 대해 중국공산당의 지도력을 보장한다.
 중국공산당은 공공의 이익을 위해 인민 중심의 접근 방식을 취해야 한다.
 "개혁의 종합적인 심화"를 지속해야 한다.
 "혁신적, 조정적, 친환경적, 개방적, 공유적 개발"을 위한 새로운 과학 기반 사상을 채택한다.
 "나라의 주인인 인민들"과 함께 "중국 특색 사회주의"를 따른다.
 법치주의에 따라 중국을 통치한다.
 마르크스주의, 공산주의, 중국 특색 사회주의를 포함한 "사회주의 핵심 가치관"을 실천한다.
 "민생과 복지를 개선하는 것"이 발전의 1차 목표이다.
 "에너지 절약과 환경 보호" 정책, "지구의 생태 안전에 기여" 정책을 통해 자연과 공존한다.
 중국의 국가 안보를 강화한다.
 중국공산당은 중국 인민해방군에 대해 "절대적인 지도력"을 가져야 한다.
 "완전한 민족 통일"의 미래를 가진 홍콩과 마카오를 위한 일국양제를 추진하고 타이완을 위한 하나의 중국 정책, 92공식을 따른다.
 "평화로운 국제적인 환경"을 통해 중국인과 전 세계의 다른 사람들 사이에 공통된 운명을 설정한다.
 중국공산당의 기강을 개선한다.

영향력과 수용 
2017년 11월 27일에는 중국의 영화 감독, 배우, 팝 스타 100여 명이 항저우시에서 하루 동안 모여 시진핑 사상이 등장하는 제19차 중국공산당 전국대표대회 보고서를 연구했다. 2018년 7월에는 창춘 지하철 열차가 중국공산당 창당 97주년을 기념하기 위하여 빨간색과 시진핑 주석의 인용문 수십 장을 장식했다. 이 열차는 창춘시 인민정부가 "시진핑 사상을 고도로 응축한 영적인 매뉴얼"이라고 표현했다.

알리바바 그룹은 2019년 1월에 시진핑 사상을 배우기 위해 개발한 모바일 애플리케이션인 학습강국(學習强國)을 출시했다. 2019년 12월에는 푸단 대학에서 교사와 학생을 대상으로 하는 시진핑 사상의 선전 관련 내용을 헌장에 추가하여 학업의 자유에 대한 학생들의 항의가 이어졌다.

각주 

시진핑
중국공산당
마르크스주의 학파
중국의 정치사
중국 철학
정치인과 관련된 정치철학
2010년대 중국
중화인민공화국의 문화
국가 이념
긴 낱말
유형별 사회주의