Advertisement
How China’s Xi Jinping promotes mix of Marxism and traditional culture to further Communist Party and ‘Chinese dream’
- Traditional Chinese culture has made a comeback amid rising nationalism as Beijing and Washington are mired in intense strategic competition
- Xi speaks of ‘common aspirations’, rather than human rights of ‘peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, says analyst
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
51
Jane Caiin Beijing
From traditional Chinese medicine to the Silk Road and cooperating with Central Asian countries in archaeology, President Xi Jinping is loudly in favour of promoting Chinese culture.
That drumbeat has grown louder recently with Xi’s visits to the National Archives of Publications and Culture and the Chinese Academy of History, as well as the first national Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength in Shenzhen.
The visits were capped off by the symposium this month, where Xi emphasised the need to boost confidence in China’s history and culture. The Chinese civilisation was “the only uninterrupted one in the world”, Xi said.
02:26
Relics unearthed from tomb in northwest China underscore county’s role as hub on ancient Silk Road
Relics unearthed from tomb in northwest China underscore county’s role as hub on ancient Silk Road
He said cultural inheritance, innovation and development remained key factors for China to grow into a global cultural powerhouse.
In a congratulatory letter to the forum in Shenzhen, a technology hub in the Greater Bay Area in southern China, Xi said the ruling Communist Party would “develop a modern Chinese civilisation, keep promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations, and provide cultural strength for building a stronger country and achieving national rejuvenation”.
The remarks come as China’s post-pandemic economic recovery loses momentum and while risks to political stability are mounting amid a narrative war against the US-led West.
The promotion of Chinese culture is intended to increase cohesion at home and provide a non-Western beacon of modernisation to the world, especially the Global South, according to analysts.
Advertisement