How the CCP is Closing China

Forty years of opening and reform persuaded a lot of people that the Chinese are not really communists. But modern China was modelled on the USSR, and its leaders want to revert to their Leninist roots.

China illustration © Ben Jones/Heart Agency.

As China’s economy continues a tailspin that is increasingly obvious to outsiders, the rest of the world asks: what will happen? Will the government ‘reform’ the economy and make people happy again? Will the people revolt? Will there be a ‘lost decade’ (as in Japan)? China is reverting to greater social control, even at the cost of incoming investment. But is this reversion intended to be temporary? What lies in the near future?

The answer is likely more repression, impoverisation and control by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China’s political system is fundamentally Marxist-Leninist and, as such, relies on atomisation of the public and isolation from the outside world to maintain power.

To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.

Buy Online Access  Buy Print & Archive Subscription

If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.

Please email [email protected] if you have any problems.