Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping

Anyone seeking to become the world’s most powerful leader must have the courage of their convictions. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, is ready to don Chairman Mao’s mantle, but also has his own lofty ambitions. To succeed, he knows he must do more than swap the Little Red Book for the Analects of Confucius.For Xi, the greatest challenge facing China’s thinkers today is to preserve Marxism as a guiding ideology, while engaging critically with mistaken credos like ‘constitutional democracy’, ‘universal values’ and neoliberalism, . China must have total faith in its own brand of socialism.This new Marxism must also blend meaningfully with Chinese tradition; with Confucius, Mencius and Xi’s favourite philosopher, Han Fei. Does this revival of Han Fei, who preached preservation of authority through force and fear, point to a ‘new-market totalitarianism’ in Xi’s China? Will this be the price of the Chinese dream?

Reviews of Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping

A succinct account of the Xi Jinping phenomenon by an eyewitness to the key moments of his rise–but with a healthy dose of scepticism. Bougon sheds highly readable, and often humorous, light on China's seemingly omnipotent leader, and on how he is shaping our world. — Kerry Brown, author of 'The World According to Xi' An excellent account of Xi Jinping's life and career, what drives him, and why he is different from his predecessors. Its range and depth are impressive. — Jonathan Fenby, author of 'The Penguin History of Modern China' Timely and compact, 'Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping' probes China's current posture through the thinking of its most assured leader since Mao. Unlike his counterparts in the West, Xi emerges as cultured, capable, politically adept and unashamedly authoritarian. The world, no less than China, should take note. — John Keay, author of 'China: A History'