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On Xi Jinping: How Xi's Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World
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?
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?
624 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2024
139 people are currently reading
676 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 3, 2024
The arguments are nothing novel, Rudd is predominantly pulling large swaths of text from Xi's speeches and summarizing them in a sentence or two, which is something any college student can do. Honestly reads like an overly long Foreign Affairs monthly essay.
April 24, 2025
En helt ny luke er ?pnet i hjernen min. Fantastisk, Xi, Kina og denne boken om dem.
April 27, 2025
In On Xi Jinping, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd provides a comprehensive analysis of the political and ideological motivations of China's enigmatic leader. Rudd argues that President Xi, unlike his reformist predecessors, is turning China sharply toward a stricter, ideologically rooted form of politics. Through analysis of official CCP documents, speeches, and literature, Rudd posits that Xi is simultaneously moving China further to the left economically (Marxist) and ideologically (Leninist), while shifting further to the right (nationalist) in terms of foreign policy.
Whether these drastic shifts are truly based on deeply held ideological beliefs or are merely a pragmatic next step in a long-term plan laid out by leaders past remains open to debate. However, Rudd believes that Xi really means what he says, and that it would be foolish to dismiss his words as mere rhetoric.
From a personal standpoint, as someone without a strong background in the study of China or politics in general, this book served as an edifying primer on President Xi's path to power, his long-term goals, and his vision for the future of a once-great power (possibly soon to be great again). That said, readers should approach this book with a strong interest in the subject, as Rudd is methodical and thorough in his assessment, sparing none of the finer, and sometimes tedious, details. I occasionally found myself having to push through much of the dry economic analysis and noticed that Rudd tends to repeat himself to emphasize key points.
Despite this, there is much that I found interesting, particularly the latter part of the book, which takes on a more speculative rather than historical tone as it explores the future of China under Xi’s leadership. Will China continue to become more ideologically extreme in response to external pressures, or might it return to a more centrist path? If the aging Xi manages to hold on to power long enough for the younger, more patriotic, and enthusiastic generation to step into positions of authority, "Xi Jinping Thought" may continue to dominate for decades to come.
Whatever your view of Xi Jinping’s impact on China's rapid rise, positive or negative, On Xi Jinping makes a clear case that it could not have happened without the ambition and keen political mind of President Xi.
Whether these drastic shifts are truly based on deeply held ideological beliefs or are merely a pragmatic next step in a long-term plan laid out by leaders past remains open to debate. However, Rudd believes that Xi really means what he says, and that it would be foolish to dismiss his words as mere rhetoric.
From a personal standpoint, as someone without a strong background in the study of China or politics in general, this book served as an edifying primer on President Xi's path to power, his long-term goals, and his vision for the future of a once-great power (possibly soon to be great again). That said, readers should approach this book with a strong interest in the subject, as Rudd is methodical and thorough in his assessment, sparing none of the finer, and sometimes tedious, details. I occasionally found myself having to push through much of the dry economic analysis and noticed that Rudd tends to repeat himself to emphasize key points.
Despite this, there is much that I found interesting, particularly the latter part of the book, which takes on a more speculative rather than historical tone as it explores the future of China under Xi’s leadership. Will China continue to become more ideologically extreme in response to external pressures, or might it return to a more centrist path? If the aging Xi manages to hold on to power long enough for the younger, more patriotic, and enthusiastic generation to step into positions of authority, "Xi Jinping Thought" may continue to dominate for decades to come.
Whatever your view of Xi Jinping’s impact on China's rapid rise, positive or negative, On Xi Jinping makes a clear case that it could not have happened without the ambition and keen political mind of President Xi.
April 3, 2025
Must read book for any professionals working China issues to better understand the why of the CCP. Mr Rudd brings translated internal Chinese Communist Party documents to support and demonstrate the depth and course of CCP ideology and that ideology’s impact on the observable world. For those who are simply fellow China curious travelers then the books opening chapter recommends a helpful abbreviated reading plan as you may not care about the finer points of Marxist thought. All in all, one of the best and most insightful book I’ve read in China. This plus Kissinger’s On China are a solid foundation to better understand modern China.
December 24, 2024
It`s a decent book, but he offers the same argument from that ideology matters for Xi Jinping, without the personal touch from the other book. The order of writing is reversed by comparison with the publication, I think, but these works are too close to each other.
May 13, 2025
This is a very academic book which the author does tell you ahead of time is exactly what it is and so this is really one of the very few books that I got about a third of the way through and then scan through the rest so just not what I was looking for.
March 1, 2025
Very repetitive
May 12, 2025
This was a good read to help you understand the significance of Xi and why the West (and the author) does not like him.
March 26, 2025
I was expecting more from Rudd. The book was not bad, it just lacked context and explanation. It focuses strictly on the beliefs and actions of Xi, but it would have been much more illuminating if Rudd had spent more time on explaining the context of his thinking, both in terms of how the Party thought about the needs for a strongman as Xi, and the evolving geopolitical context.
November 3, 2024
试图从意识形态出发解释一切，是很好的思路，但可能并非是真实发生的。肠肠辫始终是一个实用主义政党，马氏意识形态从上到下基本没有人相信。这套落后，腐朽，自欺欺人的话语体系，只是文字游戏罢了。另外，很多事情其实跟意识形态没关系，例如，14年强调文化，是因为他们刚开始插手社会治理，从文化领域切入；后来一系列新造的经济词汇也只是经济夺权的产物而已。24-89
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