Xi Jinping’s speech gives insight into China Communist Party machinations

At first glance, it looks like an editorial oversight. Chinese official state media publishes, in full, the text of a speech given by president Xi Jinping a year ago about how art must serve socialism and the people and not be a slave to the market.

Then, you ask, why now?

And it becomes obvious, a fact on to which experienced China-watchers immediately latched. The reason is most likely that from October 26-29th, the central committee of the ruling Communist Party will meet to set out its 13th five-year plan, a blueprint for economic and social development between 2016-2020 in the world's second biggest economy.

The message will be that growth is the top priority over reform for China by setting a growth target of about 7 per cent in its next plan, even as the economy loses impetus.

Soft power is crucial to the Chinese government, using culture to expand the country’s influence overseas. And the message at home about art that serves the people is important.

In his speech, the president urged artists to create more works that have “bones, morality and warmth” – meaning works that advocate integrity, merit and compassion – in order to provide the public the best “food for thought”.

The speech is detailed in its praise for traditional modes of art and critical of contemporary art, which he feels lacks morality and depth.

Rival factions

More politically significant is that the publication of such an important speech is a clarion call so close to the plenary session. “The publication of the speech has a meaning for the 13th five-year plan,” said

Zhang Lifan

, a Beijing-based political commentator, whose father

Zhang Naiqi

was persecuted during the Anti-Rightist Campaign in the 1950s, and who suffered himself during the Cultural Revolution.

“Xi wants to strengthen the theoretical party ruling position within the party. Mao made a similar speech before and Xi had one. Xi is good at using ways to replay history to show that he is qualified as Mao’s successor,” said Zhang.

Xi is a powerful figure in the Communist Party, but to cement his position since November 2012 he has had to marshal any number of internal interests. These include two rivals, Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang, and some believe Xi's crackdown on corruption is aimed at muzzling political rivals.

Since Xi made his pledge to fight graft in November 2012, tens of thousands of officials have been arrested and jailed, including Bo Xilai, the former party boss in Dalian and Chongqing, who is serving a life sentence for corruption and abuse of power, while his wife Gu Kailai sits in jail for murder.

National rejuvenation

China’s former security chief Zhou Yongkang was jailed for life earlier this year, the most senior member of the Communist Party yet to be punished in the president’s crackdown.

Art and culture were indispensable to the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation Xi said.

He delivered it to an audience of authors, actors, scriptwriters and dancers in Beijing. His remarks chime with a Marxist ideological position and echo those of the party's founding father, Mao Zedong, who said in 1942: "There is, in fact, no such thing as art for art's sake, art that stands above classes, art that is detached from, or independent of, politics."

It’s also a reminder that China’s dramatic economic rise in recent years has been built on “Socialism with Chinese characteristics”, but the country is officially a Marxist-Leninist state run by the Communist Party.

The five-year plan, a hangover from the cold war, is a command economy guideline that sets goals for social, economic, educational, cultural and environmental issues and is then presented to the National People's Congress in March, passed pretty much unanimously to wild applause, and forgotten about for the next five years.

It has taken on fresh significance because overseas commentators and investors read the plan closely for indications on China’s future policy plans.