Global impact | China celebrates Deng Xiaoping, but how has ‘true heir’ Xi Jinping taken up the reins?
In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at how Xi Jinping presented himself as the true heir to Deng Xiaoping
In 2004, China went big to mark the centenary of Deng’s birthday, including the unveiling of a bronze statue in his hometown of Guang’an, a grand concert by 200 pianists in Shenzhen and a documentary about his achievements.
A high-level symposium was chaired by then-president Hu Jintao, who made a detailed account of Deng’s achievements in line with protocol, and made use of the occasion to rally support for his leadership.
The second such symposium was held by President Xi Jinping 10 years ago in the Great Hall of People in Beijing, where he also gave a long speech to commemorate Deng.
Although there was nothing surprising from Xi’s speech at the time, there were already discussions among overseas China watchers about whether Xi was mimicking Deng or Mao Zedong.
After only two years in office, Xi had already shown some signs of assertive leadership, taking down powerful officials in his anti-corruption campaign and forming many leading groups that put him personally in charge of many realms of governance.
