OPINION:
On Tuesday, the United States held midterm elections to elect representatives to enact laws and provide oversight.
In sharp contrast, China’s ruling Communist Party announced Oct. 30 that it had formally expelled 33 senior political and military officials, in line with President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption purges.
Mr. Xi is preparing for a fourth term as president of China next year, extending his rule to 20 years.
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Senior Chinese officials often say their form of governance is superior to the American political system. They argue that others, especially in the Global South, will see that China’s authoritarian governance is preferable to constitutional democracy.
China’s political system endows the CCP and its paramount leader, the general secretary, with the power to make the laws, control individual rights and suppress the opposition. In return, the people are promised stability and economic growth.
It is ironic to hear these officials and academics compare a democracy with an authoritarian political system and declare that the latter is better.
The U.S. has played an enormous role in making China the world’s second-largest economy. It was Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who realized that working with the U.S. would be key to making China great again.
After being purged twice, Deng rose to power in China in December 1978. Formal diplomatic relations with the U.S. were established on Jan. 1, 1979, and Deng visited the U.S. later that month, setting the stage for greater cooperation between the two countries.
Deng inherited an impoverished China, having lost millions of Chinese because of Mao Zedong’s failed policies of land reform and the Great Leap Forward. Deng immediately established a policy of “reform and opening up,” seeking economic assistance from the U.S.
The U.S. was there for China, permitting dual-use technology transfers that created the conditions for foreign direct investment. Investment fueled China’s export industries, a key to its growth. The U.S. also provided China with market access for Chinese goods, while training millions of Chinese in modern technology and know-how.
It was the U.S. that provided unprecedented help to China as it lifted 20% of the global population out of poverty.
Although Deng moved China toward a market economy and relied heavily on the U.S., he opposed a Western tripartite separation of powers. He advocated for CCP control of the government, with collective leadership and term limits for the CCP general secretary: two five-year terms.
Still, other senior Chinese leaders advocated for greater reform in China. CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang wrote in his banned book, “Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Zhao Ziyang,” that he favored a parliamentary democracy for China, with the rule of law rather than rule by men.
Zhao was purged from the CCP in 1989, after sympathizing with the student protests at Tiananmen Square. Zhao wrote in his book that Deng forced out General Secretary Hu Yaobang for indulging in bourgeois liberalization and advocating democracy.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who served from 2003 to 2013, often spoke of the need for political reform. In 2012, he said that “democracy is inevitable” in China.
Deng, probably remembering Mao’s disastrous one-man rule, was a strong advocate for collective leadership. He also supported term limits for China’s paramount leader, president and CCP general secretary, positions that Mr. Xi has held since 2012.
Expectations are that Mr. Xi will seek and secure an unprecedented fourth five-year term as general secretary of the CCP at the 21st Party Congress scheduled for the second half of 2027.
His anti-corruption campaign, started in 2012, has purged more than 500 ministerial-level officials and millions of government officials for “corruption.” No doubt, loyalty also played a role in many of these cases. Many of the purged senior officials were from the People’s Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force.
Gens. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and member of the CCP’s Politburo, and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, were expelled from the CCP and the military. Mr. Zhang’s purge from the party and PLA was especially surprising, given his long history of working closely with Mr. Xi.
How many of the 500 ministerial-level officials were purged because Mr. Xi believed them disloyal? How many shared Deng’s dictum of collective leadership and term limits, in opposition to Mr. Xi’s attempt at a fourth five-year term as president and party general secretary? How many of the PLA generals and admirals expressed views on Taiwan that were not pleasing to Mr. Xi?
How many people in China wish that they could vote to elect representatives who would articulate their concerns?
American constitutional democracy is expensive to administer, especially during election periods, but it is a transparent and fair system. It is a system of governance that empowers the people.
• The author is a former associate director of national intelligence. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. government.
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