Author： Hao Jiangtao
In 21st-century China, Xi Jinping has constructed what appears to be an unshakable power pyramid. The apex of this pyramid gleams with grandeur, but the base is already rotting and hollow. The so-called “New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” is in fact run by a makeshift troupe of officials who lack expertise, possess no strategic vision, and are masters only at performing loyalty. They substitute sycophancy for institutional design, slogans for economic logic, and stability machines for public services—dragging China into a vortex of internal exhaustion and decline.
1. Purging the Capable, Elevating the “Loyal Fools” — The Collapse of a Governance Team
The most defining feature of Xi Jinping’s rise to power has been the ruthless centralization of authority. Under the guise of “anti-corruption,” he purged the Party of its diverse political voices, marginalizing figures like Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, and Zhou Xiaochuan—leaders with professional expertise and international vision. In their place, Xi promoted a new inner circle, led by the likes of Cai Qi, Li Qiang, and Ding Xuexiang.
Their sole qualification? Loyalty. But therein lies the problem: these men are bereft of grassroots governance experience, possess minimal economic understanding, and remain oblivious to international realities. Take Premier Li Qiang, for example. While governing Shanghai during the COVID lockdowns, he presided over chaos—supply shortages, food insecurity, and a humanitarian crisis that saw residents screaming from their balconies, “We want food!” The spectacle made global headlines. Instead of accountability, he was promoted to the nation’s second-highest office—an emblem of Xi’s “loyalty over competence” doctrine and the death of political rationality in China.
2. Political Loyalty First, No Room for Error: From “Zero-COVID” to Sudden Reopening
COVID-19 was not just a public health crisis—it was a test of institutional resilience. Initially, China’s response was effective. But as time went on, pandemic control became a loyalty test. While other countries adapted to science-based policies, China doubled down on draconian lockdowns: sealing buildings, cities, entire regions. There were horror stories—doors barricaded with iron bars, pets beaten in public, people dying due to lack of access to care.
The 2022 Urumqi fire and the ensuing “White Paper Revolution” revealed public desperation. The regime’s response? Not reflection—but a sudden, unprepared 180-degree reversal. In December 2022, China abandoned all COVID restrictions overnight. Vaccine rollout was insufficient, fever medication ran out, and hospitals were overwhelmed. Countless elderly and chronically ill people died. To this day, no official death toll has been released.
This is the ruling style of Xi’s makeshift troupe: no room for questioning, no willingness to admit mistakes. When things collapse, decisions are made on impulse, blame is pushed onto the people, and the next political theater begins.
3. Economic Stagnation and Collapsing Confidence: When Planned Economy Thinking Replaces Market Logic
In the past three years, China’s economy has entered a rare, full-spectrum downturn. Real estate giants like Evergrande and Country Garden have collapsed. Youth unemployment surged past 20%, prompting the government to stop publishing the numbers altogether. Local governments are broke—civil servant pay has been slashed, teachers are protesting for wages. This is not a “potential risk”—it’s an ongoing crisis.
Why? Because Xi’s team has abandoned market principles and returned to planned economy thinking. The sudden suspension of Ant Group’s IPO in 2020 marked the beginning of a crackdown on the platform economy. Education, tech, and private enterprise sectors followed—crushed under a wave of regulation and ideological suspicion. Entrepreneurs lost faith. New Oriental’s market value dropped by over 90%. Countless startups went bankrupt.
Meanwhile, flashy slogans like “New Productive Forces,” “Dual Circulation,” and “Common Prosperity” were rolled out with no implementation plans. These terms became emblems of policy inconsistency and unclear responsibility.
4. High Pressure at Home, Blunders Abroad: A Decline in Diplomacy and Governance
On the world stage, Xi’s makeshift troupe continues to fumble. “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy” has isolated China: tensions with the U.S. persist, ties with Europe have cooled, and even long-time African partners are questioning China’s debt traps.
The 2022 Pelosi visit to Taiwan could have been diplomatically defused. Instead, it was turned into a nationalist frenzy, ending in hollow military posturing that only worsened cross-strait hostility. The crackdown on Hong Kong destroyed the promise of “One Country, Two Systems,” and shattered international confidence in China’s legal framework—triggering a wave of capital and talent flight.
Such decisions expose a critical weakness: Xi’s team lacks strategic foresight. Their instinct is always to escalate, never to negotiate—turning every situation into a zero-sum game, and plunging China into global alienation.
5. Control Replaces Governance: Institutions Are Dead, Only the Surveillance State Remains
The greatest danger of Xi’s makeshift troupe is not that they are “evil,” but that they are confidently incompetent. Institution-building has halted. Social governance now revolves entirely around repression: the expansion of the “Skynet” surveillance system, the promotion of “digital sentinels,” the advancement of the social credit system. Even libraries now use AI censorship to scan books for politically sensitive terms like “freedom.”
Young people are “lying flat,” the middle class is emigrating, intellectuals are self-silencing—symptoms of a society that has lost hope. When policy lacks transparency, when decisions are made without participation, and when systems can’t self-correct, the nation becomes a monstrous machine—operating on inertia and fear.
Conclusion: The Absurdity of History Is Not Dictatorship—But Incompetent Dictatorship
The disasters of the Mao era were brutal, but at least Mao had a coherent ideology. Xi Jinping’s troupe, by contrast, doesn’t even bother to offer the illusion of idealism. They have turned a nation of 1.3 billion into the backdrop for a personal political theater—where incompetence is rewarded as loyalty, failure is spun as triumph, and criticism is branded as betrayal.
This is no longer governance. It is performance.
This is no longer politics. It is a tragic farce of mediocrity in power.
The greatest danger is not a tyrant—but a gang of fools executing the tyrant’s will.
