China has elevated the stature of President Xi Jinping by including his political ideology in the Communist Party constitution.
At the end of a pivotal twice-a-decade meeting, party delegates voted unanimously Tuesday to make “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” a guiding principle for the party.
The move puts Xi on par with Chairman Mao Zedong who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. China’s previous two presidents haven’t had their ideas enshrined in the constitution in this way.
Xi repeatedly referred to “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” during a three-hour opening speech at the National Congress of the Communist Party of China last week.
The address detailed his sweeping vision for the country, charting its future in a world where China’s reach is now extending — and being felt — further than ever before.
Xi declared that China should “take center stage in the world,” and that its brand of socialism offers “a new choice for other countries.”
He added that, “no one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests.”
On Wednesday, Xi is expected to be formally granted a second five-year term as the party’s general secretary and reveal the new members of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC), the top decision-making body in the one-party system.
Developing story – more to come