On November 11, President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) passed a historical resolution, a motion widely perceived as cementing Xi’s political status and authority. This resolution is a document providing a hundred-year summary on China’s history and major achievements and the third of its kind. Its two precedents, issued by the CCP during the terms of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, likewise secured Mao’s and Deng’s power during their terms as president. In 1945, Mao issued the first historical resolution to establish himself as an unchallenged Chinese authority after a three-year rectification program that eliminated the majority of his political and ideological opponents. Many believe President Xi Jinping is using the same tactic to project his power and assist him in his goal to win a third term as president, something unprecedented in the CCP’s history but increasingly likely in these times. 

The resolution elevates Xi to equal status as Mao, the founder of the CCP, and Deng, Mao’s successor, stating that Xi “solved many tough problems that were long on the agenda but never resolved, and accomplished many things that were wanted but never got done.” It also credits him as the “main innovator” of an ideology coined Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, otherwise called Xi Jinping Thought. According to Qu Qingshan, a senior party official, “Just like the previous two resolutions, [this resolution] will play an important role in helping to unite the theory, will and action of the party – to achieve future progress and in realizing the second centenary goal and the great Chinese dream of rejuvenation.” Xi is generally viewed as China’s most powerful leader since Mao. 

However, the resolution has more ominous implications. It rewrites Chinese history according to Xi’s vision. Xi Jinping Thought, his political philosophy, is already being integrated into Chinese educational textbooks. Furthermore, Xi emphasizes “absolute loyalty” from the Party, reflective of his broader determination to assert his political control within Chinese society and the country at large. Some perceive the passing of this historical resolution as a move to recentralize the Chinese government, and that President Xi Jinping’s reign is increasingly resembling a cult of personality. Yang Chaohui, a political science lecturer at Peking University, stated, “Given the party’s emphasis on discipline and loyalty, the consequences of not supporting the resolution for any party member would be disastrous.”

Regardless of motive or effect, the resolution has secured Xi an even greater amount of personal power. After 100 years of rule by the Chinese Communist Party, the most recent of its three historical resolutions spells the beginning of a new chapter for the Party, one pioneered by Xi Jinping.