The rise of Xi Jinping, explained

How Xi Jinping became China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong
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Xi Jinping, president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012, is one of the most powerful political figures in the world. By initiating an unprecedented third term as China’s leader in October, 2022, Xi has signaled that he may plan to remain in power for life - making him the first Chinese leader since Mao Zedong to hold unchecked power over the People’s Republic of China.
But Xi’s connection to Mao goes deeper than a shared outlook that emphasizes unifying the party around a single leader. When Xi was just a young boy, his family - who had held elite party status thanks to his father’s pivotal role in Mao's “Long March” in 1935 - was denounced during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a chaotic decade of purges and persecution that saw even Mao’s closest allies removed from power. During this time, a teenaged Xi was forced to work hard labor in the countryside outside of Beijing, and his father was imprisoned.
Xi’s subsequent rise after Mao died in 1976 was a methodical process in using his restored elite status as leverage to gain prominent party positions in rural provinces around China, culminating in his promotion to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007.
From there, Xi pulled from Mao’s playbook: purging his political rivals and promoting those with whom he shared close personal ties. This process undid the work of Mao’s successor, Deng Xiaoping, to prevent the consolidation of power around a single leader in China.
By the time his third term began in October 2022, Xi had reshaped the party and Chinese military leadership to be fully packed with Xi loyalists. And even in the face of social upheaval surrounding his failed Zero Covid policy, Xi has shown no sign of giving up any of the power he has consolidated since taking over as leader of the country.
Further reading:
These books and podcasts below helped us understand Xi Jinping’s rise, Xi’s similarities to Mao, how politics changed in the PRC since its founding, and the structure and culture of the CCP:
Coalitions of the Weak by Victor Shih (Associate Professor in China and Pacific Relations at the University of California, San Diego)
www.cambridge.org/core/books/...
Chinese Politics in the Xi Jinping Era by Cheng Li (scholar and expert in Chinese elite politics)
www.brookings.edu/books/chine...
Party of One by Chun Han Wong (Reporter at the Wall Street Journal)
www.simonandschuster.com/book...
Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century by Orville Schell and John Delury
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
The Prince by Sue-Lin Wong (Correspondent at The Economist)
www.economist.com/audio/podca...
These databases and papers were also helpful in gaining a better understanding of Xi Jinping’s alliances and the CCP structure under his terms:
Decoding Chinese Politics interactive by Asia Society Policy Institute
asiasociety.org/policy-instit...
CCP Elite Database by UCSD/Victor Shih
chinadatalab.ucsd.edu/elites/
China’s Political System in Charts: A Snapshot Before the 20th Party Congress by Susan V. Lawrence and Mari Y. Lee
crsreports.congress.gov/produ...
Xi Jinping’s Inner Circle by Cheng Li
www.brookings.edu/wp-content/...
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[@MrHaydnSir]

now this feels like a classic Vox video

[@robert-rv8lo]

And now, these types of videos will lead to a third world war as it justifies the continued US decoupling from China and heightened tensions. Anything that challenges the unipolar superpower that is the US is unacceptable to the US, and requires immediate regime change.

[@ChannelTENthousandBC]

100% true

[@user-zt1qx3db1y]

yep butchering xi's name lol, not offended. just dissapointed they didnt make an effort.

[@organizedchaos4559]

@@user-zt1qx3db1yhow u pronounce it?

[@letsdoodlesomethinghome3404]

@@user-zt1qx3db1yChinese names is difficult to pronounce so I’d cut them some slack 😂

[@PhilipJackson03]

Deng Xiaoping once said “Hide your strength, bide your time.” Xi certainly heeded those words.

[@Flakester]

And he's still doing this today, building his military and economy. His intentions are clear as they expand their claim on territories that don't belong to them.

[@skp8748]

@@Flakester gtfoh what are you talking about? They're not the US, France, UK or Russia.

[@carsso35]

@@FlakesterNo, not at all. He gained his power following that well-known motto for us Chinese, but his philosophy of governance has gone the opposite way. Otherwise you may never know our expanding desire.

[@Varangian82]

“In fact, Xi Jinping, unlike Bo Xilai, who is a more honest person, is basically a faithful implementer of this basic plan that was laid down by the party hierarchy decades ago. What he is implementing is the next step in the "three-step reform and opening-up" strategy. Originally, when Deng Xiaoping formulated the reform and opening-up policy, the first step was to solve the economic problems and realize a moderately prosperous society; after the realization of a moderately prosperous society, the next step was to end the biding of light and to build a strong socialist country. Xi Jinping is carrying out this next stage, and he is just concretizing Deng Xiaoping's plan, which was still a vision at that time. In the process of materialization, he did not betray the basic plan of the party and the state (in Trump's terms: the deep state) for the party and the state, but rather won greater support than Bo Xilai and Wen Jiabao because of the considerable prudence and loyalty he demonstrated in carrying it out, and because he was much more reliable than either of them.”--Liu Zhongjing

[@shutinalley]

@@Flakester Thats an issue that goes back to forever everywhere. The problem is old world mentalities that is a global problem.

[@ProdigalGeek]

Thank you for proving that journalism and education today doesn't need to have unnecessary humour to be entertaining. This is amazing stuff.

[@derroz3157]

4:55 Dum doom music

[@IsaiahRichards692]

Yes it does! Because humor is entirely necessary!

[@JuanTonSoupXP]

But you don’t know that tho

[@MaxRadioStation]

Tired of Wendoverr productuons?

[@spider6660]

This is not some worthy documentary.

[@dexterts63]

A very well made short video about a brief chinese history. I loved the economist podcast as well called The Prince. It is much more in depth but this video is pretty much covered all the key points.

[@user-js7qh6dp8y]

事实上他只是把西方的刻板印象做成了视频而已，当中拥有大量错误。自然灾害的发生与政策毫无干系，同时文革的发动原因也不仅仅只是为了巩固自己的权利。

[@eddiezhang2186]

@@user-js7qh6dp8y说的对

[@ordisigipma7064]

Vox should continue doing this type of videos

[@iansteelmatheson]

they've been doing them for like 10 years...

[@NicodemusT]

@@iansteelmatheson * Johnny Harris has been doing them.

[@Racko.]

@@iansteelmathesonNope, they had Harris doing it

[@KtenEditing]

@@NicodemusT plenty of examples of similar work they've done since Harris left

[@lurhashmazin5589]

@@KtenEditing i wonder why Johnny Harris left Vox?

[@youzhang9201]

going out of Beijing to other province and even rural area is not simply Xi's strategy, it's actually a political tradition for people who want to go to the high level in the central government in China even at ancient time. It's a kind of training system for central government. Both in ancient China and nowadays PRC, most of the high level central government leaders have some experience of governing local governments.

[@havingdinneramaster]

中国虽然是中央集权制国家，但在某些领域地方的权限并不比联邦制地方的权限小，更不要提香港澳门还有将来的台湾。 这就意味着，中央领导人必须得有主政一方的历练。 央地矛盾是从古至今都存在的，毛泽东主席的论十大关系中也曾论述过。

[@abrahamgomez8832]

Same pattern for now mexico president. He did this same approaxh with rural providences.

[@kingjoe3rd]

Xi thinks he is Mao, you know since Mao's grandson is a ... genius ;) and couldn't be bothered with politics, Xi believes that he is the one to be Mao's true successor.

[@891delta]

In big companies, candidates to be CEO have to have experience across multiple verticals of the business so they can understand the whole org.

[@oswarz]

@@abrahamgomez8832 Mingling, living, working with ordinary people gives you a different perspective on how to govern. This is something Western leaders lack.

[@Expandacraftboats]

Subscribed.. I like the production quality as much as the content. Good job.

[@astroch]

This is a correct overall description. A lot of relevant details missing though

[@oaduloju]

This was very informative. You should turn this into a series on world leaders including Netanyahu, Erdogan, Putin and MBS

[@dwaynekeenum1916]

There already is a pretty good MBS video out there from a couple years ago

[@anotheryoutubeuser]

@@dwaynekeenum1916 I think, except Netanyahu, they have already covered all the leaders the OP mentioned.

[@redox4088]

​@@anotheryoutubeuserThe media is not allowed to cover Netanyahu in a negative light." Netanyahu is the father of democracy and defender of freedom" is the only acceptable narrative.

[@theperson3693]

@@redox4088lol.

[@zvck808]

also modi

[@joezhou6221]

Most of the content is very good, but Xi Jinping did not leave Beijing to go to the bottom to escape anything. For most officials in China to be promoted, going to the bottom is a must. After the Cultural Revolution, after Deng Xiaoping resumed his work, most officials and their families were rehabilitated. There is no danger. Going to the bottom is just to accumulate political capital.

[@leezhieng]

Plus, the places he went were not exactly rural.

[@prayunceasingly2029]

​@@leezhieng like Shanghai!

[@sherylyin5219]

​@@prayunceasingly2029shanghai was the very end. the provinces he went before Shanghai were indeed rural back then.

[@demal1010]

They expressed that sentiment; they said the party wanted humble leaders

[@TheSimianDeity]

@@demal1010 The party wanted control of the outlying provinces. Sending leaders from Beijing to rule over them was only nominally about humility. Allowing provinces to grow their own leadership was a recipe for a new, competing political movement. Mao and his successors were determined that they would not make the same mistake Lin Sen did.

[@ChescoYT]

Great piece Vox!! Ty for educating us further

[@pushyarareddy7484]

A very well made video. The narration, animation, timelines and many other aspects have fit in so well with each other. Please make more of these : )

[@jasonshen7600]

4:55 Those Chinese character they are carrying on their backs are meant to teach the troops how to identify and write Chinese while marching, which is why the red army had a much high literacy rate than the nationalist later in the civil war.

[@jerry85g7]

Amazing thanks for sharing that piece of knowledge.

[@yizoho5178]

The red army during the civil war ate better generally

[@milanvondelft268]

This is a really cool fact, and i want to use it in a quiz I'm writing, but I just can't find a source. It sounds plausible, but can you please point me to one?

[@CiviTian-br3fs]

​@@milanvondelft268 Everyone in Chinese know it😂. but where the pictures from is a difficult. Maybe you can get more information by reading a book……《红星照耀中国》. Its English name is "red star over china". written by Edgar Parks Snow. it tells the story about red army. 写英文好费劲😢。

[@CiviTian-br3fs]

（“图片的来源在哪”是个困难的问题）写到一半不知道“问题”该用哪个词，结果给忘了😅。

[@Kabutoes]

This is the craziest revenge story I’ve heard of

[@AN31DO01RR96]

@@Huajierenmeiluziye I thought western social media etc. is blocked in China? Is the great firewall not working?

[@hhhhzr-rq1lg]

​@@AN31DO01RR96那个墙是​可以翻的，我今天刚整上，就是得花不少钱😢

[@sawkevinnoel7954]

​@@AN31DO01RR96 Usage of Facebook and messenger is banned in Myanmar as well, but everyone still uses it.

[@user-if4sf6es1y]

But what exactly did he avenge? Is becoming the leader of a country considered revenge? What decisions did he make that were more harmful than beneficial? Did he intensify the oppression of the people? Did he amass wealth for his own pleasure? I searched but couldn't find reliable information on this. Are some of his decisions controversial, yet on the whole, they are more beneficial than detrimental?

[@surprise-xg8pk]

习近平任上反腐干得不错,遏制了邓小平的利益集团

[@sabwo2976]

I put this as background sound and ended up stopping what I was doing to pay attention to the video. very good educational video!

[@Christian-ip2tj]

Amazing work, as always.

[@tokenblackwoman127]

He really played the long game to gain power.

[@skp8748]

Not really he played the game of not stepping on people, not becoming beholden because of corruption and being technically proficient. He learned from his father that wings could be clipped so unlike Icarus decided not to fly too close to the sun. That's why he has the role he has now he's considered fairly impartial not a lackey of the military, the political princes or the business elite since he wasn't brought to power by one of them and more importantly he's more of an administrator than a political/philosophical revolutionary... His entire creed is just efficiency if it works study it, if it doesn't get rid of it, if it's corrupt dismantle it, if it threatens stability destroy it and this is all done relatively without prejudice. His only enemy is inefficiency

[@danpetrescu4915]

play long time to gain power ? but he work hard , very hard for his people . i think is ok to get power in this way

[@askosefamerve]

​@@danpetrescu4915I don't think unlimited power is great but he won it right and square.

[@Karlach_]

I gotta commend the guy, he played the political game perfectly. I respect it even though I disagree with his ideals.

[@letsdoodlesomethinghome3404]

@@askosefamervehe won it fair-ish sure, but when one holds power for too long it corrupts them. You can have the best person in the world be president of a large country, but the longer they hold power the less good they become, the power gets into their heads and they become corrupt. It’s really sad, many dream of what they could do if they’re in charge but when you actually become in charge those ‘dreams’ become a reality, but those dreams isn’t always 100% pure so… you know, corruption.

[@roozbehzarei6943]

This episode was very informative. Thank you to all the people behind it.

[@AJ-jx5gm]

Such videos are needed for people that dont pay attention to world news. Xi has been called dictator / emperor for a while now but there's still ignorant people saying he's not. Xi is the Putin of china right now, where people disappear instead of falling out of tall buildings.

[@rongyaowang1075]

Be a human being! Don't be so shameless and villainous! Be less prejudiced! be oneself! What do you think you are? See if you are perfect? Take more care of yourself! This is the most important thing! People should have a correct mentality! One cannot be shameless! Thank you! You must be a human being! Life is alive! Why bother?

[@Mr.Mister420]

Xi xuan je shu kemo na che Xi phuc yu ma dar phuc kar xuan ji chi

[@_noen_3806]

Não foi informativo, teve inúmeras distorções de narrativa, é um desastre pra quem estuda história

[@GL-iv4rw]

HELLO, I AM A SEXIST TRANSPHOBIC MYSOGINIST CHYNESE TANKIE, HOW DO I GET MY SOCIAL CREDITS ????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@WaiLoon]

Awesome content. Thank you for making this 👍👍👍

[@coensu]

Thank you all for the amazing work

[@leezhieng]

Deng was rehabilitated and reinstated by Mao himself. This video makes it sound like it happened after Mao's death, but actually it happened BEFORE his death.

[@user-xt4qr1wh9r]

是你记错了，邓重反中央是毛死后，叶帅支持的

[@alexlo7708]

Some say Deng was rehabilitated by Zhou not long before he was dead.

[@wacxr123]

Yes, but with Mao's consent since the government can hardly run without a strong man like Deng (Zhou was sick at that time@@alexlo7708

[@TrueDreeamss]

​@@alexlo7708No. It was by Mao. Mao always liked Deng but sometimes Deng was too stubborn for Mao to tolerate

[@user-qx4bi8pv7x]

Mao Covid lol.

[@Fadzi2342]

His policies aside, what Xi did to consolidate power is political play at one of its finest. From exiled to the top, he knew how to use the system to his advantage. Learned a lot from this video. Now THIS is the kind of videos I subscribed to Vox for.

[@sleepyearth]

Vox made a mistake of his rural humble training. At that time every single youth of a certain age are sent to rural areas to contribute to the society. It's not of Xi's own desires.

[@jackietreehorn069]

I learned a lot too. Going to copy his skills to consolidate power at my kid's gradeschool.

[@antigonemerlin]

CSIS has a more in depth series of interviews with experts on this topic. The book reviews are all really good.

[@dionjohn1744]

Hes actually very smart. I give him that

[@manishsahu6186]

This sounds like a manhwa story

[@user-ql1gg7sz8b]

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

[@Moodboard39]

Some culture are more boring than others ....

[@bigtoosh]

@@Moodboard39 and some of those same cultures have reached the top of the global stage while you feed their economic growth..

[@andy_frank]

Thank you for sharing this

[@chasebemis1976]

Fascinating focus on the consolidation of powers. I would be interested to follow up on this video with a deep dive in what is meant by "Xi Jinping Thought" as defined in the Third Resolution and the contrast between its theory of change, rhetorical tone, and consequences.

[@rgcv]

Certainly worth a video!

[@nathangibbs246]

Just read his books. The four volumes of the Governance of China. And read Roland Boer's "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, a Guide for Foreigners." Great reads, very informative!

[@aejlim6912]

​@@nathangibbs246no, its internet everyone wants summarization, so spill it here

[@frankartanis1290]

The content of the third resolution is unimportant here. The fact that Xi put a thought named after him into the party constitution symbolizes the amount of power Xi has.

[@nathangibbs246]

@@frankartanis1290 maybe, but it's based on his spoken and written words

[@nathangillingham5734]

Xi studied chemical engineering at university, not philosophy. The program at the time required 15% of student's time be committed to studying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and 5% of the time doing work in the country side.

[@mandalorian3246]

overall this video has massive mistakes Zhejiang and Fujian provinces are not rular China they are industrial hubs.

[@lajibox]

What you said is not entirely correct, because he majored in chemical engineering as an undergraduate in Tsinghua University, but his postgraduate is Marxism.

[@ostrakos4785]

@@mandalorian3246 i dont think Zhejiang has much rural areas left, all their villages are quite suburban. Fujian on the other hand varies greatly, and thats why so many of them go to Myanmar to commit scams, or illegally immigrate to america

[@cjandre7789]

Xi never studied anything in any uni. He only went through elementary school.

[@monk786]

Xi received a Chemical Engineering Degree and a PHD of law from Tsinghua University.

[@m26munk58]

Vox really turned it around with these amazing videos the past couple years

[@ladylandr]

Vox did an amazing job on this video. If only the video were 3 hours long. 😊🤔😊

[@ziqi92]

My dad, who lived through the Cultural Revolution, often said this about Mao: “Chiang only taught you how to fire a gun. Mao taught you how to fight with your spirit. This is why he (proverbially) won the civil war in the end.” Mao was an incredible wartime leader, but he was a garbage peacetime leader.

[@nunosilva187]

Im sure it wasnt because he convinced the peasants by providong them promises of food and wealth

[@haomingxia2109]

@@nunosilva187 yes, land reform was a very effective policy that he did follow up upon besides, during the civil war, there were many genuine reasons why many peasants had grievances against Chiang's government. having a coherent ideology instead of being a coalition of feudal warlords only helped.

[@mathewlett9104]

No he only won cause Japan helped weaken his rivals.

[@haomingxia2109]

@@mathewlett9104 doesn't explain all the mass defections to the PLA once Japan surrendered

[@christopherx2216]

@@mathewlett9104 When the Japanese surrendered, Chiang had 4.3 million troops, and Mao had 1.2 million. Chiang started the war again with the support of the USSR and the USA. In fact, Chiang had some advantages at the beginning. However, after the success of land reform, Mao took back the initiative on the battlefield. Then, the USSR started supporting weapons and supplies. 1.6 million of Chiang's army died, 4 million surrendered, and the last 4 million run to Taiwan is the end of the story.

[@ifithrewmyguitaroutt]

I know it's probably out of the scope of this video, but a little more time spent on Bo Xilai would have been fun. He was seen as Xi's main competition for Chairman back around 2012, and the corruption scandal he got put away for was pretty wild. He'd also gained a reputation as a kind of fixer of problematic cities (first Dalian and then Chongqing). The people of Chongqing loved Bo, and in those parts, people didn't really like the way he was prosecuted and saw it as purely political.

[@caseymccollum173]

Great point - also wish they had discussed Zhao Ziyang, Deng's Premier & General Secretary. Feel like glossing over China's economic growth and classifying it as the "Deng era" broadly is a bit historically lazy and glosses over some key insights that could help viewers interpret the course of Chinese history better and understand the Xi era more deeply. Kind of as with Bo Xilai, without introducing people to these figures I think they run into the mistake of presenting Chinese history as a straight path when it really isn't. Oh well. I recognize it's tough with 20min KZbin primers.

[@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407]

There was also an international murder case on Bo's lawyer wife. They were wealthy and had properties overseas, their son studied at Oxford. Then their English butler was poisoned to death. The whole thing was super shady. Set-up?

[@csrupbxpan2711]

Do you know Bo Xilai hit his father on the public in the Cuturle Revolution? It is a devaster for the people if Bo was elected as Chinese presiden .

[@pjacobsen1000]

It's a good point, but this is a relatively short video. They had to cut a lot of detail out, or they could have gone on for hours, not that that would be a bad thing.

[@sleepyearth]

Bo's son is the catalyst of his downfall.

[@gilangputra4730]

Insightful, Thank you :)

[@user-zu1qz3sj7c]

Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by its breathtaking moments.

[@foreignproduction5589]

Chinese history is so fascinating. You've put a lot of information in there, surprised that you haven't included information about Russia and China and Mao's relation with Nikita Khrushchev. How all that affected Cultural Revolution and aftermath of the revolution, after all it was a huge contributing factor.

[@alexworldfan]

Can you elaborate how

[@hellfireboy]

Well, these are Americans, they are not very good at history, I’ve come to terms with it

[@wongyoonchark5050]

​@@hellfireboyThe success of MAO ERA under the socialism with Chinese characteristics had droved out all evil foreign powers encroached inside China & laid the foundation for future generations who brought China rising, strong & prosperity. China is good learner , industrious & self-reliance in all field of innovations & technologies.

[@cupertinoish]

@@wongyoonchark5050 yeah like starving and punishing 70 MILLION of your own people to death. In that regard he accomplished more than Hitler

[@greentea8852]

Is there a good book covering this relationship?

[@kiranrajpurohit5781]

After everything you've produced so far, I wonder if you've got plans to create multi-hour documentaries? Thank you for your work! You people produces some of the best content on the internet.

[@user-kd8kf3lx5w]

I wish. I bet the economics of it are prohibitive though.

[@rongyaowang1075]

Be a human being! Don't be so shameless and villainous! Be less prejudiced! be oneself! What do you think you are? See if you are perfect? Take more care of yourself! This is the most important thing! People should have a correct mentality! One cannot be shameless! Thank you! You must be a human being! Life is alive! Why bother?

[@GL-iv4rw]

HELLO, I AM A SEXIST TRANSPHOBIC MYSOGINIST CHYNESE TANKIE, HOW DO I GET MY SOCIAL CREDITS ????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@splashygaming6932]

What?​@@rongyaowang1075

[@TheInvestmentCircle]

Good video, good information for the most part.

[@xeronix9774]

Brilliant video! I learnt a lot👏

[@TimeBucks]

This episode was very informative

[@mdshahabulislam1810]

Good

[@PriscaOnyenwere]

Good one

[@nazrulstore-qg2kf]

Best

[@briankivuti]

Thank you so much for this well presented piece! I loved the infographics 🌟

[@GL-iv4rw]

HELLO, I AM A SEXIST TRANSPHOBIC MYSOGINIST CHYNESE TANKIE, HOW DO I GET MY SOCIAL CREDITS ????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mattthetraveler]

Fantastic video. Objective and has all relevant context. Also - the guy commentating looks like an Asian Lawrence Fishbourne

[@trangha1147]

He did the classic moves. "If you want to change the game, join the game and eventually be the game."

[@beatrizcascelli]

A MASTERPIECE! Thank you, Vox!

[@wengbx]

吓死我了，这些老外太可怕了，好好的国家被扭曲的不成样子了，满满恶意，这么恐怖这国家还能变成世界第二经济体？

[@electronspark6740]

​@@wengbx在和平年代，有着如此大量的如此吃苦耐劳且有强烈意愿改善自己生活的国民，在东亚文化的加持下，用了半个多世纪才成为世界第二大经济体，才是天理不容的。

[@fitfirst4468]

thank dee's nuts

[@williamt.sherman2573]

i wouldnt call it a "masterpiece". its our perspective on china and xi, doesnt mean this has to be the absolute right one

[@rongyaowang1075]

Be a human being! Don't be so shameless and villainous! Be less prejudiced! be oneself! What do you think you are? See if you are perfect? Take more care of yourself! This is the most important thing! People should have a correct mentality! One cannot be shameless! Thank you! You must be a human being! Life is alive! Why bother?

[@Vnbrtl]

Good video, but one major interpretation flaw: Xi’s time away from Beijing wasn’t a ‘strategy’; it’s just how the CCP works. To be part of the Politburo you need to have governed at least 4 different cities - it’s the way to attest to your political and administrative skills. Tbh, it’s a much better system to select leadership than, for comparison, corrupt two-party systems. But in no way this was a “strategy”. It’s a requirement. What Mao did in the second half of his leadership, and Xi is doing now, it’s limiting the ability of the party to distribute and valour competencies and engage with the wider body of the party (which has MILLIONS of members).

[@Q-se5oh]

It’s also kind of odd that this video didn’t talk about internal party politics and ideology.. pretty significant factor to understand who xi is. Disappointed the video just used common western sensationalist tropes.

[@aitharel3009]

Indeed, China is a meritocracy, it invented imperial examinations a long time ago for similar reasons after all

[@aitharel3009]

@@Q-se5oh Can't really expect much else from Western media though haha. Turned on the cc to find the opening music was [sinister electronic music] lol, such a classic.

[@billedifier8584]

Great, so instead of a corrupt two-party system, China has a corrupt one-party system.

[@davidzoo2246]

“异地为官”is an ancient political practice as an, part of china’s own Confucianist political history, it means “serving as a statesman somewhere that’s not ur hometown” this is why federalism will likely never work in chija

[@willsaabye6741]

Thanks!! I needed this for my class!!

[@mikebarredo]

Informative and easy to understand.

[@mousmnwltr]

Wow, this was a great history lesson. Thank you! More of these please.

[@shushunk00]

This is history for u 😂 Brainless western exceptionalist chewing up the manufacturing consent made by the "independent media" literally always aligning with state department talking points when it comes to foreign issues😂

[@GL-iv4rw]

HELLO, I AM A SEXIST TRANSPHOBIC MYSOGINIST CHYNESE TANKIE, HOW DO I GET MY SOCIAL CREDITS ????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@endot1152]

This is prolly one of the most informative Channel I’ve ever came across

[@williamxu2402]

Until it talks about the topic that you’re familiar with.

[@shushunk00]

Manufacturing consent Learn about it

[@isakpetterssonmusic]

until t comes to the palestine-israel conflict and trump videos where they spew missinformation

[@thanhavictus]

​@@williamxu2402I'm familiar with most of their topics. Some points they miss and they do issue corrections but most are pretty spot on honestly.

[@thanhavictus]

​@@isakpetterssonmusicjust because they disagree with you doesn't mean that it's wrong.

[@roflewafe47]

This was a very very informative source of information that is incredibly difficult to find these days. Thank you so much for providing clear cut information

[@benjamins5571]

Glad to see Vox going back to its roots of explaining things in an interesting way.

[@earthwormjim6962]

I'm thankful that the guy single handedly resolved San Fran's homeless crisis. Albeit for just a week or so. But at least people saw what was possible.

[@robertborunda9845]

Oh the satire😅

[@xprettylightsx3781]

There was nothing resolved. He displaced them temporarily.

[@chosenone5536]

@@xprettylightsx3781😂😂😂😂 then you should thank him for showing Cali can get rid of the homeless in the street but they won't do it.

[@earthwormjim6962]

@@xprettylightsx3781 Which is one of the resolutions for the problem. Not the best, of course, but given the city is going to be run by democrats forever, I don't see any other resolution. Just move them permanently.

[@xprettylightsx3781]

@@earthwormjim6962 fun fact, your tax dollars are spent by the millions on this problem in an ever incompetent fashion

[@KDG702]

Top notch video, Vox crew. One of your best in a while. Thank you

[@johnnysins3795]

This was a very good video. Good job Vox!

[@marcusaton3007]

Great video. Great insights.

[@brettygood1]

Excellent piece, really well done to everyone involved in this!

[@TAIWANPARTOFCHINA]

150 countries in BRI and there is 195 countries in the world. This says a lot about Xi's leadership 🐉🇨🇳

[@ssmot113]

This video on Chinese govt is a lot better than the older one ..

[@had940]

LOVE this video style. I hope you guys do more like this!!

[@nawabsaeed4691]

Please make a similar video about Israeli war crimes in Gaza and Washington's immortal vetoes against UN resolutions for ceasefire.

[@daniswara1164]

GENIUS!!

[@alexmccauley503]

Great informative piece. Could have done with a bit more on the recent developments at the end, like Hu Jintao's soft purging (and his supporters). China's politics is really an underreported affair in the west, glad you covered some of it.

[@roym4457]

It's underreported EVERYWHERE especially in CHINA LOL...

[@BensonMTG]

A lot of China watching and China current events news is heavily paywalled. Too many of those sources have the market cornered and it’s sad they take advantage of it.

[@yank-blood-no-eat-get]

"Hu Jintao's soft purge"? Can you elaborate? Do you have some insider's information that I don't know?

[@Guangatron]

take everything with a grain of salt especially when hearing opinons that are not from the people in china.

[@MasterBayden-allday]

They are talking about the most recent video (a year ago) of hu jintao sitting next to Xi, then getting escorted out in front of everyone, I'm assuming for show.

[@mathewanthony1264]

Thank you all for the amazing work ❤

[@user-kn1oo1be4r]

Most senior officials in China have grassroots experience

[@user-vv7ir1pl4j]

Did they reupload this

[@JesseY18]

A small error at 9:58 : Zhu De was not purged at all; he remained his post as the Chairman of People's Congress until his death but he had been sidelined even before the foundation of PRC

[@jeremybiggs8413]

Also Deng Xiaoping came after Mao’s short serving successor Hua Guofeng left office in 1981.

[@Varangian82]

Maybe he mean Pang Dehuai, the commander-in-chief of the Korean War.

[@charon2987]

Zhu De was freezed to death, like a Russian guy falls out of window

[@songyang2750]

However his grandson became a criminal and be executed in 1980s😂

[@user-xb1ug5kt3h]

@@jeremybiggs8413他是政变上的！

[@sohanarahaman8070]

This reminds me of the similar situation in Bangladesh 🇧🇩 and Italy 🇮🇹 too and geopolitically in the government.

[@IntellectualWave]

As we say in Silicon Valley, once you got a billion users, you need new frameworks.

[@christopherblack5361]

This is such a fantastic video. Well done and thank you.

[@zhanbofang9245]

As a Chinese, I think the information of documentary is still too simplified; it doesn't means about good or bad, but underrating of the complexity of the society of China

[@Mezzo396]

what would you add

[@twinkjakdoomer]

What is oversimplified?

[@serdavosseaworth6115]

There’s only so much you can squeeze into a 20 minute film though.

[@123fps3]

20 min

[@JYYP-jz7qq]

typical Chinese netizen - quick to criticize and never to offer any actual values. it's 20 minutes for christ's sake

[@angelguerra9655]

-" father, father"- Never felt so alone I appreciate top tier content and johnny never let me down

[@PatsonChanda]

Is it just me or the intro sounded like a nice action movie plot filled with spy 🕵 action 🎭

[@neill362]

just to be clear in 00:43 , ‘president’ is not the most powerful man in china’s political field, there are ‘general secretary of the party’ and ‘chairman of the military’ above the president. As a result Mr. yang and Mr. li were not the number one person at that time for they didn’t control the military

[@torresromain]

I love documentaries about China's history during the 20th century, that was one of my favorite subjects in high school. Does anyone have any documentaries to recommend that I could watch?

[@atomabg5498]

Watch Joris Ivens's How Yukong Moved the Mountains if you haven't yet

[@torresromain]

@@atomabg5498 I have never heard of it, no. Thank you, I'll give it a look!

[@andrespulido8]

Watch the movie the last emperor

[@skp8748]

Coogan has good one as does jabzy

[@skp8748]

Ryan Chapman as well

[@user-rg6xq9qp5j]

Really good video.

[@chitchesshk]

“Striping democratic process in Hong Kong”, the most American thing to say

[@kimbanton4398]

Yep. Just like with every accusation of imperialism by the US, over 96% of the time it's pure projection...

[@surreal9558]

These are the only types of videos that Vox should be making. Real, good journalism that isn't afraid to talk about topics that other news sites are too afraid of to do so themselves.

[@Gromkiii]

Haha there's real historical channels with fact on KZbin do you know or you listen only Vox.

[@Chickenduudio]

​@@GromkiiiThat grammar is atrocious.

[@coldarcticoasis]

​@@GromkiiiName them. Too many humans think and believe their sources are good but they are not. You could be one.

[@serriajohn]

@@coldarcticoasis From 1952 to the end of the Maoist era, steel production increased from 1.4 million tons to 31.8 million tons, coal production increased from 66 million tons to 617 million tons, cement production increased from 3 million tons to 65 million tons, and lumber production increased from 11 million tons. tons increased to 51 million tons, electricity increased from 7 billion kilowatts/hour to 256 billion kilowatts/hour, crude oil production increased from a fundamental blank to 104 million tons, and fertilizer production increased from 39,000 tons to 8.693 million tons. . By the mid-1970s, China was still producing large quantities of jet aircraft, heavy-duty tractors, railway locomotives, and modern sea-going ships. The People's Republic of China also became a major nuclear power, completing the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles. China successfully tested its first atomic bomb in 1964, produced its first hydrogen bomb in 1967, and launched a satellite into orbit in 1970. On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were only 205 general colleges and universities in the country, with only 117,000 students enrolled. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the national literacy rate increased from 20% to 80%. The four literacy campaigns of New China enabled more than 100 million people to get rid of illiteracy. The number of students increased by 8.4 times. The number of students enrolled in primary schools reached a record high of 150 million, and the enrollment rate reached 97.3%. The number of students enrolled in ordinary middle schools reached a record high of 67.8 million in 1977; After 1949, it experienced the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and India, the Sino-Soviet border military pressure, the Sino-Vietnamese Xisha naval battle, the anti-American Chiang Kai-shek invasion on the southeast coast, the international comprehensive economic blockade and embargo, the policy of diplomatic isolation, and the domestic rich and evil rebels. 26 years of destruction by right rebels. However, Mao Zedong relied on self-reliance and developed at an average annual GDP growth rate of 9.8%, which is extremely rare in world history and unmatched by capitalist developed countries. Compared with the United States, the gap between my country's economy and the United States increased from 28 times in 1949 to 1978. The difference between years is 5.52 times. In fact, from 1949 to 1976, China's GDP rose to sixth place in the world, while in 2005 it was seventh. At that time, China was the sixth largest industrial country in the world, the third largest military power, and the eighteenth scientific and technological power. It gradually established an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system. Morris Meissner, a professor at Yale University in the United States, concluded after extensive research: The Mao Zedong era was one of the greatest modernization eras in world history, and was closely related to the industrialization processes of several major rising stars in the modern industrial arena, such as Germany, Japan, and Russia. Not inferior to the most intense period. The United States believed in the book "The Modernization of Japan and Russia" published in the 1970s that New China has achieved achievements that no other country has achieved. As former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger said: "China has emerged as one of the six largest industrial countries in the world." Deng Xiaoping also said in his speech at the Party's Theoretical Work Retreat on March 30, 1979: "We In thirty years, we have made progress that old China had not made in hundreds and thousands of years."

[@jjf9807]

just because it satisfies your expectation doesn't mean it's real😅

[@RareSeldas]

Just pointing out what a lot of Westerners miss, China's presidency is a very symbolic position not a position with a lot of political power. Xi is party chairman which is the highest position of power in China and that has no term limits. So Xi already had 'power for life' if he wants it just like every Chinese leader before him.

[@ChinaTheLlama]

CCP=dictatorship.

[@willyang4487]

Exactly.

[@lirenxin5472]

No you're wrong. After Deng Xiaoping it was changed to a limit of two terms, but successors of Deng followed the Constitution. Xi, however, changed the Constitution a few years before his third term. So he was aiming to be like Mao for sure.

[@TacticalMayo]

Westerners wouldn't care because we see China as the enemy.

[@Luvanweed]

lol Xi absolutely has more power in China than the president of the USA has inside the USA. China is literally one or two steps away from being an autocracy.

[@Mohammed96134]

Thank you for this fabulous work. My respect from Iraq ❤❤

[@dhq12345]

Wow, Laurence Fishburne sure does know a lot about Chinese history and political system.

[@AlkaidWhite]

不，没你想象的那么了解

[@laserharald3145]

This video was amazing. It was worth every second I spent on watching it. Thank you for your work!

[@kennpaqizaraki5707]

But as a Chinese, I'd like to tell you that this video interprets the politics and history of modern China in a completely wrong way, which will only make Western readers more misled.🤣🤣🤣

[@kwokholuk8723]

​@@kennpaqizaraki5707 well said

[@DanBolton-my9bx]

@@kennpaqizaraki5707 exactly, no chinese historians in the video, no actual chinese people gave their opinions on this, just a white american producer and opinions of asian americans that have no knowledge/experience of history of china

[@dongletron69]

Please keep informing us on foreign powers, this video was so fascinating. Much more interesting than the typical WWII stuff im used to studying. Very refreshing, keep up the good work!

[@anthonynjenga8329]

very detailed.very impressive.🇰🇪

[@user-wh1lo9vl9l]

You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

[@XIXCentury]

"intimidating Tibet" Uh that's in China, by the way.

[@ohplsshutup]

It's not

[@Nikoolayy1]

@@ohplsshutup Haven't they taken Tibet? You may not agree with the way they did it but denying will not change anything.

[@TD1237]

@@Nikoolayy1 I think it is part of it, officially speaking. But it was taken by force, as it was disputed territory. Not an expert on the region but I'm fairly certain that much is true. Personally, I don't agree with China's actions in this instance.

[@user-xj5fq3wc2m]

@@TD1237 It was part of China from 1300-1900, declaring independence after the collapse of the Qing in 1912, but failed to gain international support, how you choose to China retaking Tibet in 1950 is up to you

[@socrali5602]

​@@TD1237 What you said is so ignorant. Following your chain of thought, the southern states of the USA were all taken by force. BTW, the time Tibet belongs to China can trace back to almost one thousand years ago. I can't find a single reason to say "it was disputed territory".

[@graysonjd5624]

This video is a great exercise in recognizing how writing and phrasing affects the viewer’s understanding of content, and how that can be used for manipulation and disinformation. Media literacy is important.

[@underdog3864]

ominous music in the background

[@abbytrandel4284]

I agree with you. It's very important that Vox continue to do media literacy now and in the futre for the of our future generations.

[@graysonjd5624]

@@abbytrandel4284 Perhaps English is not your first language (I mean that genuinely), but that is not how “media literacy” would be used.

[@lelouchlamperouge-pi5kd]

Do you mean the historical documents showed in this video does not conform to its explanation or anything? Bro, why not just lay out any clear and substantive arguments and evidence without being sarcastic like this, as if there were some strict comment censorship here.

[@terri6854]

@graysonjd5624 Your comment is a great exercise in recognizing how passive aggressive people try to create an air of superiority by using intentionally vague or incomplete implications. Comprehensive communication is important.

[@user-jb6rv4nz6h]

He's not only the most powerful leader in china but also doing it during the most powerful era of the history of china

[@sleepyearth]

Vox also glossed over the fact that Xi's family are as corrupted. They are billionaires and have properties all over the world.

[@willyang4487]

Interesting point.

[@dwaynekeenum1916]

Tbf ancient China was pretty nice too

[@husseinhamze8828]

He pushed china towards its most powerful era

[@TacticalMayo]

But now they have to clash with the US and you know what that means.

[@lwang9175]

Zhejiang province is not a "rural" area, it is one of the most economically vibrant area of China

[@yty1941]

to be fair, it is known for the "cancer villages" and lots of rural areas facing water and soil pollution tho

[@JikunCai-ln9yz]

@@yty1941 Whole China is evil in BBC.

[@user-wy4lm2mu8e]

Real magic in relationships means an absence of judgement of others.

[@Istredd109]

This was great although I’d love to learn more about his possible motivations and long-term plans.

[@breezyashell]

Right, this video makes it seem like Mao and Xi are just power accumulators, with little to say about what it is they want to do with that power

[@patrickpickett7040]

One of the big reasons is uncertainty regarding the state of the USA leadership. Changing leaders now without any idea of which direction the USA will go in is very difficult.

[@levelazn]

long term plan is to build chinatowns everywhere so chinese people can eat well anywhere

[@zzzstl6371]

What is the long-term plan? It is very straightforward, as he always says, "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation", yeah... "make China great again". If he could achieve it, he would get his reward: being recognized as a great leader in Chinese history, which is the dream of most rulers in China. There are two specific goals for him to claim success: the first is to grow the GDP to the No.1 in the world. The second is "bring Taiwan back". These two are the cores, but they are somewhat contradictory, it is impossible for him to get support in Taiwan and peacefully take Taiwan, but a war will make China's economy fall down significantly. China's growth is slowing down, and the economic crisis is rising, pushing Xi further away from his long-term plan. The bad news is Xi knows little about the economy, while he is hardworking to put his fingers here and there. The good news is that the recent diplomatic move shows he hasn't given up Deng's “take economic construction as the central task” and wants to resume a good relationship with the US and the developed world; this means taking Taiwan by force will unlikely happen recently. But we never know what will happen in the next 5 years. It is obvious to the Chinese that he wants to seize power for at least another 10 years. What will he do if he finds he cannot achieve his dream? At least taking Taiwan by force is much easier than economic growth.

[@rupigo]

Long term plans are generally published and followed to the letter. So you just have to research it.

[@leoncheng6768]

Lin Biao death by plane crash was no mystery, it was mostly likely shot down by the PLA due to the fact that he or his son depending how you look at it, attempted a coup against Mao. When it failed they first flew south towards Guangdong were assuming he had support, but change direction to the Soviet Union to flee. His final years was quite sad as he was a schizophrenic and have clinical PTSD from the war. He wanted to retire but Mao kept him within party leadership and appointed him as his second and successor over Zhou Enlai and cried over it. One of the most noticeable military strategist of 20th century who took Beijing during the civil war to have his have his end to be so tragic.

[@ishredder4006]

ok

[@Ahahahhaaah]

@@ishredder4006you must be slow or a ccp bot.

[@jeremybiggs8413]

He was also the guy responsible for the cult of Mao and the cultural revolution.

[@williamxu2402]

Technically impossible at that time.

[@jakzeng3342]

what the exact flip are you talking about...historians don't even know fully why his plane crashed and here you are blabbering

[@ggzhhgao]

A lie can be more convincing if it contains elements of truth. This is what this video felt like.

[@Luxzue]

True,dude😆

[@Cesarissatan]

Usually I don’t care for anything coming out of Vox, but this is a quality video

[@user-bd4sg6oe3o]

错误和偏见太多了。我们国内也有许多讲解世界各国的视频，现在我也不敢完全相信了，因为彼此不可能完全了解。

[@huyunfeiz]

What an informative content! Hats off to you guys for making such a masterpiece!

[@doug9000]

i would love to see a 20 minute video about the entire history of the USA with this horror movie soundtrack too.

[@efeemachado]

Right?

[@ezzb]

And narrating everything as a dramatic evil plot lol Tbh though, the moment most Americans hear "China" a horror movie soundtrack probably starts to play in their heads anyway

[@ezzb]

​@@efeemachadoolha só, um camarada Br por aqui

[@TacticalMayo]

​@@ezzbwhy would they do that knowing China is the devil.

[@TacticalMayo]

​@@ezzbactually the first thing that we usually see are like nuclear bombs going everywhere.

[@818SMERK818]

Shen Yun is a beautiful Theater show in Los Angeles to watch with the family I promise, Come to Los Angeles, California ❤🙏🇺🇸

[@boim9312]

Wow the story look so interesting, cool 😎

[@koreyhobgood3367]

Concise, yet detailed. Focused, yet thorough. Well done.

[@Violetdream2012]

This is a very informative video that unvailed China's political structure and power conflicts over the years.

[@luohuapiaomiao]

But this is only from a Western perspective. As a Chinese, I am convinced that 99.9% of Chinese people would not call Xi Jinping a dictator. The West always looks at things with their prejudices and ignores many realities in China, especially the fact that China is a huge country with 56 ethnic groups and 14 billion people.

[@gnfdgkkbvffjj6640]

​@@luohuapiaomiao correction -- 1.4 billion

[@SidneyGossett]

this is amazing stuff.

[@jhx4265]

这个视频对西藏是如何描述的？我还没有看。但是我知道西藏的风景还不错

[@taylorverrall118]

One of the best Vox videos I’ve seen in ages. Brilliant return to form.

[@joshuachapman247]

Thank you for your hard work on this.

[@borjaserrano3480]

I didn't know that laurence fishburne was historian too

[@WuLinfeng-gb6uv]

Thanks for letting me know more about my country, giving me more critical thinking about Chinese political structure.

[@Taytates-lr6kg]

Excellent video thoroughly enjoyed it.