An authoritative account of Xi Jinping's worldview and how it drives Chinese behaviour both domestically and on the world stage.

In his new book, On Xi Jinping, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd provides an authoritative account of the ideological worldview driving Chinese behaviour both domestically and on the world stage--that of President Xi Jinping, who now hold near-total control over the Chinese Communist Party and is now, in effect, president-for-life. Rudd argues that Xi's worldview differs significantly from those of the leaders who preceded him, and that this ideological shift is reflected in the real world of Chinese policy and behaviour.

Focusing on China's domestic politics, political economy, and foreign policy, Rudd characterises Xi Jinping's ideological framing of the world as "Marxist-Leninist nationalism." According to Rudd, Xi's notion of Leninism has taken the party and Chinese politics further to the left in comparison to his predecessors. Also, his Marxism has also taken Chinese economic thinking to the left-in a more decisively more statist direction and away from the historical dynamism of the private sector. However, Chinese nationalism under Xi has moved further to the right- towards a much, harder-edged, foreign policy vision of China and a new determination to change the international status quo. Xi's worldview is an integrated one, where his national ideological vision for China's future is ultimately inseparable from his view on China's position in the region and the world. These changes in worldview are also reflected in Xi's broader rehabilitation of the concept of "struggle" as a legitimate concept for the conduct of both Chinese domestic and foreign policy--a struggle that need not necessarily always be peaceful.

Finally, Xi's ideological worldview also exhibits a new level of nationalist self-confidence about China's future--derived from China's historical and civilizational strengths but reinforced by his Marxist-Leninist concept of historical determinism and the belief that the tides of history are now on firmly China's side. A powerful analysis of the worldview of arguably the most consequential world leader of our era, this will be essential reading for anyone interested in how Xi is transforming both China and the international order, and, most importantly, why?

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Features:

• Argues there has been a significant change in China's ideological worldview under Xi Jinping compared with previous ideological orthodoxies under Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao
• Summarises Xi's worldview as a new form of "Marxist-Leninist Nationalism"
• Explores the correlation between ideological changes in China and changes in the Chinese politics, economic policy, and a more assertive foreign policy
• Written by one of the leading Western commentators on relations between China and the West

Preface
Chapter 1: Hiding In Plain Sight: Xi Jinping's Ideological Framework for the Future
Chapter 2: Defining Core Concepts
Chapter 3: Continuity and Change in Chinese Worldviews: An Historical Survey
Chapter 4: Changes to China's Ideological Worldview Under Xi Jinping (2012-2017)
Chapter 5: Ideological Change under Xi and Changes in Chinese Domestic Politics
Chapter 6: The Impact of Ideology on Xi Jinping's Economic Policy
Chapter 7: Changes in China's Macro-Policy Direction on the Economy
Chapter 8: The Impact of Ideology on the 14th Five-Year Plan and Micro-Economic Policy
Chapter 9: Nationalism in Xi Jinping's Worldview
Chapter 10: Nationalism and the Narrative of Foreign Policy Assertiveness
Chapter 11: Nationalism, Foreign Policy Assertiveness and Chinese Policy Towards the United Nations
Chapter 12: Codifying Xi Jinping Thought through the Party's 2021 Historical Resolution
Chapter 13: The Dawn of Xi Jinping's Second Decade in Power and the Political and Ideological Impact of the 20th Party Congress
Chapter 14: What Xi Jinping's Ideology Can Tell Us about China's Future
Chapter 15: China After Xi Notes Index

Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister, Australia, AUSTRALIA

Kevin Rudd is former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister of Australia. He is also former President of the Asia Society and the current Australian Ambassador to the United States. He has a PhD in politics from Oxford University and is the author of The Avoidable War (2022), among other books.

"Rudd's book helps to better understand a man who is likely to shape China and world politics for a long time to come. Xi takes ideology very seriously. We should do the same." -- Angela Köckritz, Books for the Winter 2024, Table Media

"[An] incisive new book... adds a wealth of context to what animates Xi's grim determination." -- James Kynge, Financial Times

"Essential reading...  For British readers, Rudd's book may take work: it's serious scholarship. But it's worth it to make clear that Xi's ideological framework is essential to any assessment of the threat from China...Rudd's warning has never been more timely:"We ignore Xi's clarity of ideological purpose at our peril." -- Tom Tugendhat, Daily Telegraph

"magnificent...the book is a clarion call for free and open countries to wake up." -- Charles Parton, Spectator

"[A] monumental new take on Xi... [Rudd] understands the system [in China] in ways few of his peers can claim to... [He] is particularly good at showing how the strangely heterodox mixture of ideas from Marx, Mao and, in recent years, Confucius seen in China's domestic politics relate to the outside world." -- Kerry Brown, Times Literary Supplement

"A book of singular importance...It's distinctive, and therefore intensely valuable, and a classically Rudd enterprise because it involved reading, analysing and putting into Chinese and communist context every significant thing Xi has ever said or written." -- Greg Sheridan, The Australian

"Kevin Rudd shows how taking Xi's ideology seriously helps us to better understand Chinese politics and to make policies that reduce the likelihood of conflict." -- Neil Thomas , Australian Book Review

"[Xi Jinping's] worldview is superbly analysed in Kevin Rudd's new book...which should be read by specialists, the public and incoming Trump officials alike." -- Michael Pezzullo , The Strategist

"an essential read" -- Gunjan Singh, Business Standard

"A highly impressive tome - scholarly, authoritative, and surprisingly lucid for such a dense endeavour." -- Sang-Hwa Lee, The Article

"Xi Jinping is one of the most important, but most unknowable leaders of the modern world. Kevin Rudd uses meticulous readings of Chinese sources and deep knowledge of Beijing politics to interpret Xi's thinking in a fascinating and revealing way that is both deeply scholarly and informed by Rudd's own understanding of leadership." -- Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School

"Public servant, prime minister, diplomat, scholar--Kevin Rudd's resume is also a stellar CV for the elite caste of scholar-bureaucrats that managed the Chinese empire for over a millennium. On Xi Jinping focusses the experience of a political practitioner engaged with China since his teenage years to analyse Xi Jinpingâs Party Empire and its global ambitions. Rudd also attempts the seemingly impossible by offering words of guidance and hope in this darkling age." -- Geremie R. Barmé, editor of the China Heritage

"Understanding Xi Jinping's worldview and what it means for China and us, is more crucial now than ever. Rudd's superb analysis provides the reader with a comprehensive guide to Xi's thinking on domestic policy and global affairs. Rudd takes Xi's words seriously and teases out the consequences: a politics and economics that has moved to the left and a foreign policy that has turned to a form of rightist nationalism. Rudd encapsulates these processes with the phrase 'Marist-Leninist Nationalism.' This work is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding where China has come from, where it is heading and the consequences for all of us." -- Anthony J. Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

"How has Xi Jinping's 'Marxist-Nationalism' shaped China and its relations with the world? No one is better placed than Kevin Rudd to answer these questions, and he does so convincingly in these illuminating pages. This is an essential book for everyone interested in the future of China." -- Joseph S. Nye, Author of A Life in the American Century

"In this book, Kevin Rudd provides all who care about peace a huge service. Drawing on his extraordinary knowledge of China and the Chinese system, Rudd reveals a side of Xi Jinping only comprehensible through his extensive ideological writings--giving us all unique insights into a man upon whom much of the future depends and helping scholars and policymakers alike better understand Xiâs motives and anticipate his actions. A remarkable read!" -- Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government

"Understanding Xi Jinping, his plans for China, and how they will affect the world, is the central challenge for the United States and policymakers everywhere. As a foreign policy practitioner, a scholar, a Chinese language speaker, and a former world leader himself, Kevin Rudd is uniquely well placed to answer the question of what Xi Jinping actually believes. He does so brilliantly by drawing on Chinese primary sources, in-depth research, and a lifetime of experience dealing with China's leadership." -- Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush

"A very insightful analysis on Chinese politics, economics, and foreign policy under Xi Jinping's leadership, focusing on the critical role of ideology... a very well written and organised book." -- John West, Australian Outlook

"Best books of 2024: Politics "both entertaining and scholarly" -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times

"The blend of Marxism and nationalism under Xi's leadership is not just reshaping China-it's a strategy that's impacting geopolitics worldwide." -- S&G Consulting Firm