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**The Symbolism of the National Congress:** The seven most powerful men in China represent the top leadership of the ruling party, and their identities are revealed every five years at the National Congress. The order in which these leaders emerge is symbolic, with the first individual appearing serving as the head of the party for the following five years.

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**Xi Jinping’s Historic Third Term:** In October 2022, Xi Jinping appeared as the top leader for a historic third time. This was made possible by the removal of presidential term limits, signaling a departure from the two-term restriction followed by his predecessors and suggesting a potential plan to remain in power for life.

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**Comparison to Mao Zedong:** Xi Jinping is the only leader since Mao Zedong to possess unchecked power over China. While he utilizes strategies from Mao’s political playbook, his personal life was significantly disrupted by Mao’s policies, which led to his family’s ruin and his own exile as a teenager.

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**The Origins of the Long March:** During the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Red Army faced near-annihilation by Nationalist forces. In 1934, approximately 86,000 soldiers and civilians broke through enemy lines to begin the Long March, a year-long retreat intended to establish a new base far from their opponents.

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**Mao’s Ascent to Leadership:** Early in the Long March, traditional military strategies led to catastrophic losses for the Red Army. Because of these failures, leadership was returned to Mao Zedong, whose guerrilla tactics were credited with saving the remains of the army and securing his position as the de facto head of the party and military.

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**The Connection to Xi Zhongxun:** The Long March concluded in northern China at a guerrilla base led by Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping. Of the original marchers, fewer than 8,000 survived the journey characterized by starvation, disease, and constant combat.

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**CCP Power Structure:** The Chinese Communist Party’s highest authority is the Central Committee, within which sits the Politburo. The ultimate decision-making power resides in the Politburo Standing Committee, an elite group that dictates the will of the party and controls the Central Military Commission.

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**Institutionalizing Maoism:** At the 1945 National Congress, the party adopted "Mao Zedong Thought" as its unquestioned guiding principle. This resolution ensured that Mao’s ideas and policies could not be challenged, centralizing absolute authority in his hands for the remainder of his life.

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**The Separation of Party and State:** Following the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, a government system was created to implement the policies decided by the Politburo Standing Committee. The State Council, led by the Premier, became the primary administrative body, though it remained subservient to party leadership.

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**Impact of the Cultural Revolution:** Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to consolidate power and enforce absolute loyalty to his ideology. This period resulted in the deaths of 40 to 80 million people through famine and persecution, and involved the purging of high-level party officials and military leaders.

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**Xi Jinping’s Period of Exile:** During the Cultural Revolution, Xi Jinping’s father was imprisoned and publicly criticized by the Red Guards. Consequently, a 15-year-old Xi was expelled from his school in Beijing and sent to the countryside to perform hard manual labor while living in a cave.

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**Deng Xiaoping’s Collective Leadership:** After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping rose to power and rehabilitated exiled party veterans. To prevent the return of a dictatorship, the party introduced a 1981 resolution condemning aspects of Mao’s rule and emphasizing a commitment to collective leadership and power-sharing.

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**Economic Reform and Normalization:** The "Deng Era" was defined by decentralization, economic ties with the West, and the normalization of relations with the United States. These reforms transformed China into the world's second-largest economy and set the stage for its emergence as a global superpower.

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**Xi Jinping’s Strategic Rise:** Despite his family's history, Xi Jinping joined the CCP and strategically took leadership roles in poor, rural provinces to avoid competition with other elite "princelings." This path allowed him to build a base of support in the military and civilian sectors while cultivating a reputation as a humble, hardworking leader.

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**The 2007 Promotion:** Xi returned to Beijing in 2007 after a brief stint in Shanghai where he handled a major corruption scandal. He was selected for the Politburo Standing Committee because party elders perceived him as a prudent and less ambitious figure compared to his rivals.

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**Consolidation Through Anti-Corruption:** Upon becoming leader in 2012, Xi launched a massive anti-corruption campaign that led to the arrest of hundreds of senior officials and military officers. These purges effectively removed his political rivals and allowed him to fill top positions with personal loyalists.

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**The Elevation of "Xi Jinping Thought":** In 2021, the party passed a third historic resolution that unified CCP ideology around "Xi Jinping Thought." This move mirrored Mao’s historical actions, making Xi’s personal political ideology the core of all party stances and actions.

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**Domestic and Foreign Policy Shift:** Under Xi, China has doubled its economy and military spending while taking an aggressive stance regarding the South China Sea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Internally, the government has implemented strict surveillance and faced international criticism for human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority.

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**Challenges to Authority:** The "Zero-Covid" policy led to the first major public challenge to Xi’s authority through widespread protests across China. While the policy was eventually reversed, the country currently faces a shaky economy and internal dissatisfaction.

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**Total Political Control:** By the 2022 National Congress, Xi had successfully removed all senior members with ties to previous leaders. The current Politburo Standing Committee is composed entirely of Xi's loyalists, ensuring that no dissenting ideologies remain in the top levels of the party or military.

Video 1ZKBaRsP1gY

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