The Governance of China

The Governance of China is a four-volume collection of speeches and writings by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and current paramount leader of China. Presenting the official party line for China's development in the 21st century, the collection is an authoritative source on Xi Jinping Thought.[1]

"Governance of China" redirects here. For the governing bodies of China, see Government of the People's Republic of China and Government of the Republic of China.

The Governance of China
English copies of The Governance of China
EditorsState Council Information Office, Central Policy Research Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party), China International Publishing Group
AuthorXi Jinping
Original title习近平谈治国理政
CountryMainland China
LanguageMandarin Chinese (translated into several world languages, including English)
GenrePolitics
PublisherForeign Languages Press
Publication date
2014, 2017, 2020, 2022
Published in English
2014, 2017, 2020, 2022
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages515 (V.I), 620 (V.II)
ISBN978-7-119-09023-8 (Vol. I)
Website"china.org.cn".
The Governance of China
Simplified Chinese习近平谈治国理政
Traditional Chinese習近平談治國理政
This article is part of
a series about
Xi Jinping
Policies and theories
Key events
Diplomatic activities
　

The volumes were published in 2014, 2017, 2020 and 2022 respectively.[2][3]

Overview

Governance of China consists of 270 pieces, organized thematically into 54 chapters.[lower-alpha 1] All three volumes were edited by three entities: the State Council Information Office, the Central Policy Research Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and the China International Publishing Group.[7][8] The volumes are also interspersed with photography of Xi, depicting him "at work and in daily life".[7][lower-alpha 2]

Major points

The text articulates Xi Jinping Thought, Xi's political philosophy as it relates to large-scale political issues concerning China including economics, domestic politics, international relations, infrastructure, technology, environmentalism, peaceful co-existence, and the military.

Volume I also contains a political biography of Xi in the appendix.

In Volume III, Xi calls on the Communist Party to centralize and strengthen its leadership on cybersecurity and IT issues, stating that these matters should be at the top of the national agenda and the Party's list of priorities.[9]

Release
The Governance of China in different languages presented at Shanghai Library

The first two volumes of Governance of China were formally presented to western audiences at the London Book Fair upon their release,[1][10] and both volumes have been translated into other major languages, including English, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Uyghur, Tibetan, Kazakh, Korean, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Polish, Standard Zhuang, and so forth.[11][12] The third volume was announced by Chinese state media on 30 June 2020.[6]

Reception

Reviews of Governance of China have been mixed. It was positively received by Chinese media and officials[13][14][15][16] and received measured praise from non-Chinese leaders. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of Thailand's military junta, for instance, asked his cabinet to study the first volume shortly after it was released.[17]

In Western media, it largely received negative reviews, with some regarding it as propaganda but offering that it is a useful guide to better understanding China under Xi Jinping's leadership.[18][19] Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, writing in Foreign Policy, for instance, called it a "mix of stilted Communist Party argot, pleasant-sounding generalizations, and 'Father Knows Best'-style advice to the world".[20]

It received limited praise in other areas of Western society, however, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly having read the book and ordering copies for his company's employees (though Zuckerberg's interest in the book has been interpreted as a vested interest—Facebook is blocked in China, and if the block were lifted the potential result would be a dramatic increase in Facebook's userbase).[17][21][22]

Although Chinese media have reported global circulation numbers for the book's volumes on the order of several million copies,[11][17] Western media have reported very low sales numbers for the work in Western countries.[17][23] A 2021 report published by Reuters, claimed that Amazon sided with the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and stopped allowing any customer reviews for the book on the Chinese version of the website, citing "two people familiar with the incident".[24]

See also

Notes
  1. Volume I has 79 pieces spread across 18 chapters,[4] volume II has 99 pieces spread across 17 chapters,[5] and volume III has 92 pieces spread across 19 chapters.[6]
  2. Volume I includes 45 photographs of Xi,[7] volume II includes 29 photographs,[8] and volume III includes 41 photographs.[6]

References
  1. Wasserstrom, Jeffrey (15 May 2018). "From the Little Red Book to the Big White one". Times Literary Supplement.
  2. Xi, Jinping (2014). The Governance of China (Volume I). Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 978-7-119-09057-3. English paperback edition.
  3. Xi, Jinping (2017). The Governance of China (Volume II). Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 9787119111636. English paperback edition.
  4. "First volume of Xi's book on governance republished". china.org.cn.
  5. "About the Book". china.org.cn.
  6. "Xi Focus: Third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" published". Xinhua. 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. Governance I, publisher's note.
  8. Governance II, publisher's note.
  9. Parzyan, Anahit (2023). "China's Digital Silk Road: Empowering Capabilities for Digital Leadership in Eurasia". China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace. Mher Sahakyan. New York: Routledge. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-003-35258-7. OCLC 1353290533.
  10. "Helping with the book launch of The Governance of China by Xi Jinping". Global China Dialogue. 2015.
  11. "Influence of Xi Jinping book spreads with editions in more languages". The Telegraph; China Daily. 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017.
  12. Jessup, Catherine (11 April 2018). "Second volume of Xi Jinping's book launched in eight foreign languages". gbtimes.
  13. "Wang Huning stresses importance of Xi's second book on governance". china.org.cn. 22 December 2017.
  14. Yeli, Sun (24 October 2014). "The Governing Ideas and Style of China's New Leadership – A review of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China". Beijing Review. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  15. Cai, Mingzhao (22 October 2014). "A Rare Opportunity to Understand Contemporary China -- Introducing Xi Jinping: The Governance of China". Beijing Review. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  16. Weiwei, Zhang (24 October 2014). "A Closer Look at President Xi and the Future of China -- Introducing Xi Jinping: The Governance of China". Beijing Review. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  17. "Xi Jinping's new blockbuster is getting a hard sell". The Economist. 26 April 2018.
  18. Yang, Hengjun (31 January 2015). "Why Read Xi Jinping's Book?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  19. Economy, Elizabeth (9 December 2014). "Zuckerberg's Love Affair With Xi Jinping". Forbes. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  20. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (5 February 2015). "We Read Xi Jinping's Book So You Don't Have To". Foreign Policy.
  21. Taylor, Adam (8 December 2014). "Why would Mark Zuckerberg want Facebook employees to read the Chinese president's book?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  22. "Zuckerberg hosts Chinese internet regulator, 'buys Xi Jinping's book' for Facebook staff". South China Morning Post. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  23. Beech, Hannah (20 April 2015). "Is Chinese President Xi Jinping's Book of Speeches Really a Best Seller?". Time.
  24. "Special Report: Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm". Reuters. 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
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