Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era — typically shortened to "Xi Jinping Thought" outside of China — was first enshrined in the Chinese constitution at the last National People's Congress in 2017.
It's a set of personal and national ideals for the advancement of Chinese society that was developed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There are rumours it will be embedded even further at the upcoming congress, when Xi is likely to enter his historic third term as president.
"It's part of a long-standing tradition," explained Professor Rana Mitter, director of the University of Oxford's China Centre.
"The top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party have their names embedded in different ways into the ruling framework, the constitution, and the ideological system of China."
What is Xi Jinping Thought?
While previous Chinese leaders have had their ideology added to the Constitution, such as Deng Xiaoping's '"Open Door Policy", or Hu Jintao's "Harmonious Society", Xi Jinping Thought has been treated differently.
"He has been designated as the core of the Chinese Communist Party and its thinking," Professor Mitter said, "and that hasn't happened since the days of Mao Zedong."
Chairman Mao was the founder of the People's Republic of China and spearheaded the Great Leap Forward and The Cultural Revolution. The latter left a devastating impact on the Chinese people during his reign.
However, Xi Jinping Thought diverges from Mao's ideology in some important ways.
For example, Confucianism and other "traditional Chinese wisdom" is embraced, not rejected — as backwards or futile — as it was under Mao.
"Under Xi Jinping, and under his predecessors as well, there's been a slow but steady rehabilitation of China's traditional thinking," Professor Mitter said.
"Now, of course, it has to be made compatible with the Marxism [that] still drives the Chinese Communist Party."
Professor Steve Tsang — the director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London — has been studying Xi's ideology and is a keen observer of Xi's tenure as president.
He said that Xi Jinping Thought was more than "just old-fashioned socialism with Chinese characteristics".
"It is about power and about control," Professor Tsang said, "and it means the party leads everything in every sphere of work in the whole country.
"If — or when — China becomes the dominant power in the world, that [power and control] will extend beyond the borders of China, and right at the centre is Xi Jinping himself."
"[Xi] sees his system as clearly superior to that of the West, and that's why he wants to share it with the rest of the world."
'It all depends on Xi getting it right'
The Chinese Community Party, under Xi's rule, has changed.
"We have seen the end of collective leadership, and its being replaced by strongman rule," Professor Tsang said.
"It now all depends on Xi Jinping getting it right."
And Xi, along with the CCP, have a lot to get right – China is facing multiple big challenges right now, including a rapidly ageing population, a slowing economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
China is currently operating a zero-COVID policy that involves rapid lockdowns when small numbers of cases are detected, rigorous testing requirements and strict quarantine measures at its borders.
"It's like Whac-A-Mole for China to try [to] continually keep the virus out," East Asia Correspondent Bill Birtles told The Daily podcast.
"I think many observers suggest that [the lockdowns] have to end at some point, or at least be heavily downgraded, because they're really damaging the economy in a significant way," Professor Mitter said.
"Until a year ago, I would say without qualification that Xi Jinping was very, very, very popular in the country as a whole, much more than inside the Communist Party itself," Professor Tsang said.
"Today, with the zero-COVID policy, I think we are seeing much more discontent within the Chinese population who are affected by this policy in how they feel about the leadership.
"Xi is now showing that he is making quite a few very important wrong calls, which are causing the Chinese economy to get into greater difficulties."
The next five years
It looks very likely that Xi Jinping will be the leader of China for another five years — and maybe more.
In 2018, Chinese lawmakers passed changes to the constitution abolishing presidential term limits.
Since the death of chairman Mao Zedong in 1976, the CCP tried to move away from the cult of personality that characterised Mao's rule and applied a two, five-year term limit on its leaders.
Xi could, effectively, rule indefinitely.
"He will be looking at redoubling everything that he has been doing," Professor Tsang said.
"He is a man with a mission, and the mission is to make China great again in the mythical path of China."
Professor Mitter said that the world was divided in how they perceived Xi's China.
Western countries, such as the US and Australia, are wary of China.
"They're worried about what they perceive as a Chinese drive to control much of the sea lanes as well as coastal territory in its own immediate area," Professor Mitter said.
"They feel that the language that China has put forward about expanding peacefully is not something they feel confident with."
In regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and even parts of South America, they're interested in China's investment capability — which has been implemented by the CCP through China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2013.
"For several years, the Belt and Road Initiative was used as a way of paying for 5G services, infrastructure, or for vaccines during part of the COVID crisis," Professor Mitter explained.
"There's still a sense in which China is regarded as a country, which is not necessarily very attuned to the culture or habits of other parts of the world, but is a lender who can be considered along with the others."
Professor Tsang said the world would need to get comfortable with a powerful China, with a powerful leader.
"What Xi Jinping would like to create in China is one, strong, powerful country with one, united people sharing the same thought, guided by one ideology, which is Xi Jinping Thought."
