China’s most popular app is a propaganda tool teaching Xi Jinping Thought
- The Xuexi Qiangguo app is now the most downloaded item on Apple’s App Store in China
- Released by China’s Communist Party, the app is helping cadres learn more about its political doctrine
A slick tool for teaching “Xi Jinping Thought” has become the most popular smartphone app in China, as the country’s ruling Communist Party launched a new campaign that calls on its cadres to immerse themselves in the political doctrine every day.
Xuexi Qiangguo, which translates to “Study powerful country”, is now the most downloaded item on Apple’s domestic App Store, surpassing in demand social media apps such as WeChat and TikTok – known as Weixin and Douyin, respectively, in mainland China.
Released by the party’s publicity department in January, Xuexi Qiangguo mostly serves as a news aggregation platform for articles, short video clips and documentaries about President Xi Jinping’s political philosophy.
Officially called “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, this political theory was presented by Xi, 65, at the Communist Party Congress in 2017. It has since been enshrined as part of the state and party constitutions.
Xuexi Qiangguo requires users to sign up with their mobile numbers and real names. “Study points” are earned by users who log on the app, read articles, make comments every day and participate in multiple-choice tests about the party’s policies.
That points feature also offers a method to monitor the compulsory use of the app. Party cadres across the country are now required to use the app every day and accumulate their scores, according to recent state media reports.