The Asian giant has not made progress on the political level in the 10 years Hu Jintao has been in power, who on Thursday was replaced by Xi Jinping as general secretary of the CPC
JOSE REINOSO (Beijing). Every time a congress of the Chinese Communist Party takes place (CCP), There are voices and speculations about the possibility of China undertaking political reforms that emulate the profound economic reforms it has carried out since Deng Xiaoping launched the opening process in December 1978. The Asian country has made little progress on the political level in the 10 years Hu Jintao has been in power, who yesterday was replaced by Xi Jinping as general secretary of the party and next March will be relieved as president of the country at the end of his term. Xi Jinping will have to do what Hu did not do in this field, pushed by the floods - although still timid- demands of the population and the exhaustion of an economic model, what, according to some experts, It also requires political changes for its modification..
When Hu Jintao came to power, some saw in him a reformist leader. Soon the mirage disappeared, with Hu totally focused on boosting the economy and extinguishing any hint of dissent and calls for reforms; to the point that, according to some intellectuals such as Deng Yuwen, editor-in-chief at Tiempos de Estudio, a magazine published by the Central Party School, Hu Jintao's failure to take significant steps toward political change and democratization has led the Communist Party to face “a crisis of legitimacy.”.
In a detailed analysis of the legacy of the Hu Administration and Premier Wen Jiabao, Deng Yuwen afirma que, "broadly speaking, “China has made considerable progress during this time”, but that the problems that have been generated “outweigh the achievements”. “The biggest and most urgent problem that the communist party has to face, in the process of creating a prosperous society, It is the crisis over the legitimacy of his government, result of its failure to address the growing income gap, worsening corruption, the inability to effectively achieve social integration and the failure to respond to public calls for greater democracy”. The essay, titled The 10 serious problems, was published online in the influential Caijing magazine in early September, but was quickly censored.
Xi Jinping comes to power with a stronger China than he did 10 years from the point of view of economics and foreign policy, but with more tensions and some more deep-rooted problems. Among the challenges you will have to face, there are social inequalities, rampant corruption and environmental problems; whose solution happens, according to experts, for the implementation of reforms.
Many Chinese and foreign economists believe that it is urgent for Beijing to undertake economic reforms because the current path, based on investment and exports, has been sold out. “China should change the current economic development model and pay more attention to building the domestic economy.”, improve the quality of growth and allow people to share the results of growth”, asegura Li Jing, professor at Beijing University of Economics and Business. “The two most important reforms that China must undertake are to improve the pattern of income distribution and reduce the wealth gap. “This would inject new impetus into the economy.”. Li states that, to continue growing at a strong pace, Beijing must reduce inequalities, create a social security system, improve household consumption, breaking industrial monopolies and perfecting the market environment. “China needs to grow less quickly, but with higher quality”, points out.
Some academics believe that we must go much further, towards political changes. “There is a potential crisis in the Chinese model of economic growth. “One of the reasons is the lack of a match between economics and politics.”, Dice Yao Zhongqiu, university professor and president of the Unirule Institute of Economics, a private think tank in Beijing, that enacts free market policies. “The most important thing is not economic reforms but political reforms. I think the leaders understand this perfectly. Now in China, no one cares about economic reforms, political reforms worry. If the new leaders are intelligent and want to do something for the people, "They better start with political reforms.".
Roderick MacFarquhar, professor at Harvard University specializing in China, coincide: “The great challenges for the new leaders will be to fight corruption and environmental degradation.”, and address growing demands for political liberalization.”.
Experts think the new leaders are aware that China has reached a turning point in its economic and political development., and pressure for reform is mounting. Chinese academics talk openly about it.
¿Can China continue with the current political system? “Since inertia is a powerful force, the system could continue for some time, despite its fragility.", said MacFarquhar. “The problem is that political reform means dismantling the dictatorship of the party, and their 83 millions of members would strongly oppose this because it would mean they lose their privileges, advantages and means to earn money corruptly”.
The debate is also in the official press. According to a survey published at the beginning of the month by Global Times, newspaper linked to Diario del Pueblo –official organ of the CCP-, eight of each 10 Residents in large Chinese cities are in favor of carrying out political reforms.
The key, in the end, lies in the meaning behind the term and the speed of implementation. In the opening speech of the congress, he 8 November, Hu Jintao had cautious words for possible changes. “The reform of the political structure is an important part of China's overall reform. We must continue to make active and prudent efforts to carry out the reform of the political structure, and make people's democracy more extensive, “more complete in scope and more solid practice”.
The convoluted phrase means that Beijing could introduce measures to expand the so-called democracy within the party, implement experimental measures to promote greater debate within CCP structures without modifying the one-party regime, guarantees, according to the authorities, of the social stability necessary to continue economic development. For those who hoped to see the arrival in the future of a multi-party democratic system, Hu was blunt: China “will never copy a Western political system”.
Cai Mingzhao, spokesman for the 18 CPC Congress, He justified it in a press conference prior to the start of the conclave with this phrase: “The leading position of the Communist Party in China is a decision made by history and by the people.”. The reform of the political system must adapt to the Chinese national reality. "We must remain unwaveringly on the proper path opened by the party.".
Deng Yuwen believes that this position could stop the Chinese rise. “There is a long road before reaching the idea of returning power to the people. This is the biggest problem and the one that poses the greatest challenge. From the modernization experience in other countries, It is evident that it cannot be resolved in one go.. It must be done methodically and with caution.", write in your essay. "However, the state should at least make some gesture and show that the party is sincere in its efforts to give people hope, instead of hesitating in the face of difficulties”, state, to add, next, that the solution to the difficulties that China suffers “lies in the reform of the political system, and how deep the reform is.”. “One era ends and another begins”, Dice Deng, and adds that how Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao's successors move forward in handling the problems facing the country "will determine China's peaceful rise and the speed of China's rise.", and even if the rise can continue”.
