Chinese President Xi Jinping is employing autocratic governance tactics that analysts and historians say echo those used by Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, as he consolidates power and reshapes China’s political system.
The Wall Street Journal report describes Xi as having overseen the removal of dozens of senior officials, including close protégés, as part of a broader effort to ensure strict loyalty within the Chinese Communist Party. It adds that he has strengthened a cult of personality around his leadership while aiming to secure China’s long-term trajectory as a global power capable of rivaling the United States in military and economic strength.
Now in his 14th year as party leader, Xi has dismantled institutional norms introduced after Mao’s era that were intended to prevent the return of one-man rule, the report said. The Wall Street Journal noted that while Xi has not replicated the mass violence of earlier Communist leaders, his approach has intensified political discipline within the party structure.
According to the report, Xi has accelerated the removal of senior officials since beginning his third term in 2022, including members of the Politburo and top officials across the defence, foreign affairs, agriculture and financial sectors. Military commanders, regional leaders and executives in state-owned enterprises have also been dismissed, reflecting what the report describes as an unprecedented scale of elite turnover since the Mao era.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi has revived Mao-era practices such as self-criticism sessions within the Politburo, where members evaluate one another’s loyalty and performance under criteria tied to alignment with Xi’s leadership. The system, according to analysts cited in the report, reinforces internal discipline while discouraging dissent within the party hierarchy.
The report also highlights structural changes under Xi’s leadership that have removed term limits and weakened informal retirement norms, enabling him to remain in power beyond traditional constraints. Xi is expected to seek a fourth five-year term as party leader in 2027 and continue as state president beyond that period, according to the report.
The Wall Street Journal said Xi has concentrated decision-making authority in his own office, particularly during his first two terms, before delegating limited responsibilities in his third term to senior loyalists considered too old to serve as potential successors. The absence of a clearly defined succession plan, the report noted, has raised questions among observers about long-term political stability in China.
Citing historical comparisons, the report draws parallels with Stalin and Mao, noting that both leaders faced succession crises after their deaths that led to political upheaval and reversals of policy direction. Analysts quoted in the report warn that the lack of an identifiable successor in China could create similar uncertainty in the future.
The Wall Street Journal further reports that Xi has strengthened ideological and organisational control over the Chinese Communist Party, expanding regulatory systems and enforcement mechanisms that govern party members. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s internal watchdog, has been empowered to oversee compliance and conduct inspections across state and party institutions.
According to the report, nearly one million individuals were disciplined in the past year alone, reflecting what it describes as an extensive system of internal monitoring and enforcement. The system also encourages members to report on one another’s behaviour, though it stops short of the mass violence associated with earlier authoritarian campaigns, the report said.
The report also highlights the growing prominence of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” which has been embedded into the Communist Party constitution and state governance structures alongside Mao Zedong Thought. The Wall Street Journal notes that party members are required to study Xi’s political philosophy as part of recruitment and ongoing training.
State media, according to monitoring cited in the report, has increasingly referred to Xi as the “people’s leader,” a title reminiscent of Mao-era political language. Analysts quoted by The Wall Street Journal say such messaging reinforces Xi’s central role in China’s political identity and governance model.
The report concludes that while Xi’s methods are described as rational and calculated by some observers, they reflect a highly centralised system of governance that prioritises loyalty and control, drawing frequent comparisons to earlier eras of Communist rule under Stalin and Mao.
