Xi Jinping: The Governance of China II

I read this book a while back. Having lived in China for over 15 years, and having immersed myself in its culture, politics, and history, I can tell you this book is propaganda.While this might seem as a dismissive of this book, it serves Xi’s and his true master Li Zhanshu in painting their successful politics as virtuous. They are not. They have lifted millions of people out of poverty at the cost of millions of others. Brainwashing and submitting should never be the path to stability.If you want to pick up this book out of interest in the way the CCP dictatorship generates propaganda to the west, then you will educate yourself with this book in the same way I did.Keep in mind Amazon quietly has been deleting and upping reviews for this book due to Chinas power in its propaganda and image control. I commend them for their power, prowess, and ability to see the west’s weak spots.Please do not support the CCP by buying this book. Please download a PDF copy from the web.

Do you really think this book is the truth? He's a despicable man along with Carrie Lam. He's ruined hong kong and people's livleyhoods. He silences those who need to be heard, those who speak up for democracy and the hanious acts of the CCP! The world needs to wake up and sanction the CCP! Disgusting

Don't bother

It took me many months to work my way through this volume, covering 2014-2017, because there is so much wisdom and thought provoking words in there. As a Brit I was astonished to read so much positivity, and this book could, mostly, have been written by Westerners. It’s a guide book to doing your best, helping others and global peace.Now I realise that this is at odds with what is routinely published in western press about China, and so it would be all too easy to write this book off as propaganda, but I think that President Xi Jinping genuinely wants to improve things in China and in our world, but as with change everywhere, he is probably facing lots of internal resistance as comforts zones feel threatened. This could partially explain the apparent divergence between these wise words and what we read in the press.Sure, as a Brit, there are bits in the book that are alien to me, and which make me think, that’s not right, and it isn’t right for me or fellow westerners. But China is China and has the right to do things its way for its people. One example is how party schools should not discuss western ideas. To me this seems odd, as it is only by learning about China that I can hope to try to understand it a bit better.Overall this book could, mostly, have been written by a socially conscious, business orientated, global peace loving Western capitalist. It is certainly a good guide to progressing. But as it was written by a communist, I think that it will be all to easy for westerners to ignore the wisdom that equally applies to the West: work hard, be nice, dialogue not war, etc.I can only imagine the internal struggles faced by Xi Jinping as he tries to bring his vision into reality. And it is nice to read that he also recognises the dangers of the Thucydides trap as global power shifts in our world.The only problem I have is squaring these wise words with what I read in the press, see on television, and read in books by those whose experience is rather at odds with these wise words, whether Canadian law enforcement officials or excelled Chinese who spill the beans. But evolving a country as big as China will undoubtedly be a huge challenge and there is probably much internal resistance as so much changes so quickly. After all change can be hard for everyone.I look forward to reading the third volume in this series, with more up to date speeches, in the hope that this helps me close the apparent gap between this vision and reality as reported in our press etc.It was money and time well spent. Even if some Chinese ways don’t make sense to me, eg not being allowed to discuss western ideas in party schools.This book is well worth a read by anyone interested in global affairs, China, or more generally about world peace, self advancement through criticism, and so on.For fellow westerners who may think me naive, which I may well be, yes this book could be propaganda, it could be written by speechwriters and merely spoken by Xi Jinping, but equally it could be part of the story of a man who genuinely does care about his people, his country and our world, who is doing his level best to make things better. A man who undoubtedly faces a lot of internal challenges as comfort zones get knocked.I, for one, am very interested in how this all plays out in our world over the coming years, as global power balances continue to shift and the Thucydides trap becomes an ever bigger risk to our world.It’s a funny thought, I have often criticised my government mainly when they do things that will, from my perspective, hurt our people, in the hope that it will help make things better for Britain: after all everything starts with a thought. Have I had any real effect? Who knows but probably not. If I was Chinese and did that in China would I may well be on the wrong side of their legal system, in prison or perhaps have a bullet in my head. Yet I recognise the wisdom in the words, and the importance of positive and well meant criticism is well documented in this book.In short, this book is very much worth a read, not to convert to communism, but to understand China better, and place in better context some of what we read in our press. Mind you much of this book could have been written by a Western, socially minded, Capitalist. It’s that universal in its wisdom.

This book is part of a three-book set compiling speeches given by Xi Jinping on different occasions about China's path to building socialism with Chinese characteristics. I like reading direct sources about the subject in order to understand it better and build my own opinion. So far, what I read is very clear and eloquently expressed. I am learning many important aspects of China's worldview and what they are doing and need to continue doing in order to meet their goal of modernizing the Chinese economy, raising the living standards of the Chinese people, elevating the people's culture, and education while taking care of the environment. I am also learning about the Chinese 5000 years of civilization. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously interested in the People's Republic of China.

Perfect for citations in English of Xi Jinping's very ambitious plans for expanding the authority of his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

If you want a well articulated and very thoughtful view of the philosophy of the CCP, this is it. It’s terrifying!

This two volume series is destined to be one of the most important books of the century. If we are too really understand the motivations of the Belt and Road, and the central role China is likely to play, the speeches of Xi Jinping allows readers to connect China's motivations with Xi's policy initiatives. Western interpretations about what China's motivations are, does nothing but fuel fear and anxiety. At some point, there may be contradictions in China's leadership with Xi's vision, but we'll cross that road when we get there. Until then, we can look forward to the decline of unipolar hegemony and applaud the multipolar approach towards global governance.

"What I cannot create, I do not understand." If your entire source of understanding China is from US news, you may want to pick up Volume One and Two to learn from Xi Jinping himself. When you finish reading the book, you should be well engrained into why the Comminist Party of China operates the way it does, and what the Party represents. As globally connected as the world is, we should take the time to read about others from their perspective.