President Xi Jinping’s commemoration of a Communist Party elder points to how Beijing is redirecting its broader ideological narrative

The references to communist conviction so prominent in the 2015 address delivered for Chen’s 110th birthday were relatively sparse in Xi’s remarks from earlier this month. Instead, there was polished language relating to development planning and political resilience.

In 2015, Xi’s speech commemorating Chen Yun’s 110th birthday emphasised unwavering faith in Marxism and communism. Xi also spoke of Chen as a disciplined party member. The between-the-lines message was clear: ideology was to be re-centred as the Communist Party’s main source of legitimacy during Xi’s first term.

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