Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (China in Drops)

By: Ricardo Abud

The Chinese political system is characterized by an absolute one-party system led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). Its main elements are:

Centralized political structure: The CCP maintains a monopoly on political power, controlling all levels of government, from the Politburo Standing Committee to local governments.
Consolidated leadership: Especially under Xi Jinping, who has concentrated power by eliminating presidential limits and consolidating his thinking in the party constitution.
Performance-based legitimacy: The CCP justifies its continued rule through economic growth and social stability, presenting itself as the guarantor of the "Chinese Dream" of national rejuvenation.
State control over information: Strict censorship, digital surveillance, and media control to maintain the official narrative and limit dissent.

Economic system: "Socialist market economy"

The Chinese economy represents a unique hybrid with distinctive characteristics:

Centralized planning with market mechanisms: The state maintains strategic control while allowing market forces in specific sectors.
Dominant state-owned enterprises: SOEs (State-Owned Enterprises) control strategic sectors such as energy, telecommunications, banking, and defense, although they coexist with a dynamic private sector.
Targeted industrial policy: The state actively guides economic development through five-year plans and major initiatives such as "Made in China 2025" and the "New Silk Road."
Selective economic opening: China maintains controlled integration into the global economy, allowing foreign investment with restrictions and limited access to certain markets.

Structural support bases

1. Ideological basis

Adaptation of Marxism-Leninism: Incorporating "Xi Jinping Thought" and other theoretical contributions of CCP leaders.
Nationalism: Narrative of the "century of humiliation" and the current "national rejuvenation" as a source of legitimacy and social cohesion.
Pragmatic Confucianism: Selective recovery of traditional values (hierarchy, social harmony, respect for authority) to complement official ideology.

2. Economic base

Gradualist development model: Incremental reforms since 1978 that allowed for the transition without system collapse.
Capitalization of domestic savings: High national savings rate (approximately 45% of GDP) that finances investment in infrastructure and industrial development.
Mass urbanization: Planned demographic transformation with the creation of megacities and special economic zones.
State control of key resources: State ownership of land and natural resources as the basis of the state's economic power.

3. Technological base

Massive investment in R&D: China allocates approximately 2.5% of GDP to research and development, with an emphasis on strategic technologies.
Developing national champions: Companies like Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, and CATL supported by the state to compete globally.
Technological surveillance system: Implementation of the Social Credit System and facial recognition technologies for social control.

4. Social base

Implicit Social Contract: The CCP offers economic prosperity and stability in exchange for limitations on political freedoms.
Modified hukou system: Internal migration controls that structure the workforce, albeit with gradual reforms.
Demographic policies: From the one-child policy to current birth incentives to address population aging.

5. Military base

Accelerated Modernization: Transformation of the People's Liberation Army into a modern force with capabilities in all domains.
Civil-Military Integration: A "civil-military fusion" strategy that leverages civilian technological advances for defense applications.
Power projection: Building capabilities to defend Chinese interests abroad, especially in the South China Sea and along the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Chinese system has demonstrated remarkable adaptability and resilience over the past few decades, combining seemingly contradictory elements into a unique model that has enabled unprecedented economic development, while the West finds it difficult to understand its functionality and how it continues its growth process.

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