Last China

A worker carries out work on the emblem of the Chinese Communist Party in Pekín. NG HAN GUAN / AP

The CCP’s monolithic appearance may turn out to be a mirage and a serious risk to stability

Forty years ago, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping theorized about the primary stage in the construction of socialism, a period that in his opinion, displaying that long-term vision so characteristic of Chinese thought, would require at least one hundred years of perseverance.

In this way, Deng intended two things. First, to put a stop to the rush that had characterized Maoism, obsessed with rapid development that ignored the country’s precarious material base and extolled ideological voluntarism with dire effects for society as a whole. Second, to contextualize and normalize the vocation of a certain political waistline to wipe out the inevitable contradictions that would connote the reform and opening that under his auspices would propitiate a great second wave of transformation in China that emerged in 1949.

Dengue's flexibility freed many ties, eliminated limitations, and allowed a wide debate of ideas and experimentations. At the same time, he established clear red lines, basically embodied in the four inalienable principles, including the leadership of the Communist Party. Untouchable.

Now the CCP hastens the pace. The decisions recently adopted formalize the course that China imagined by Deng to culminate that century of the primary stage that continues to be associated with the construction of an alternative model. The new five-year plan and the Goals for 2035 abound in this scenario, specifying the vectors of force and projection into which China will turn in the coming years.

The dangers lurking in this last stage highlight Deng’s wise warnings. Identifying a strategic opportunity sheltered from the ongoing technological revolution to suddenly establish itself at the head of the global vanguard suggests a gigantic effort. There is no time to lose. Today these rushes have various manifestations and are translated into priorities on the agenda, with some developments taking precedence over others. The economic, technological, social, and environmental revolution is underway but is advancing asymmetrically.*

On the other hand, the greatest risk is the temptation to make history by wanting to solve the problem of Taiwan in the wild.