The Political Thought of Xi Jinping

By: Steve Tsang, Olivia Cheung

Narrated by: Rebecca Lam

Over the course of the last half dozen years, China's supreme leader Xi Jinping has made extraordinary changes which have profound implications not only for the Chinese people but nations throughout the world. Given how swiftly and fundamentally China's relations with the rest of the world are changing under Xi's rule, it is imperative that we know what Xi Jinping Thought is, how it evolved, and why it is so important.

In The Political Thought of Xi Jinping, Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung provide an authoritative overview of what "Xi Jinping Thought" is and is not and what it means for both China and the world. Xi, now effectively leader for life, has worked to ensure that "Xi Jinping Thought" becomes cemented as the new state ideology. Clearly inspired by the doctrine of "Mao Zedong Thought," which shaped the parameters of acceptable thinking for a quarter century, Xi wants his doctrine to define what he calls the "China Dream of national rejuvenation" and serve the pathway to its fulfillment by 2050. Drawing from original research of Xi's speeches, writings, and policies, Tsang and Cheung conceptualize Xi's vision independently from interpretations provided by the Chinese Communist Party or other sources. They further examine and explain how Xi seeks to transform this vision into reality.

©2024 Oxford University Press (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

An excellent work, well written and superbly read

This is an excellent work of scholarship. It considers and analyzes the major facets of Xi Jinping’s political thought which, given his preeminent status and lack of successor, will continue to matter to Chinese and world politics for the foreseeable future. Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung delve into areas where many other scholars have only stayed on the surface. It is, however, probably not a book for someone who hasn’t studied China at all before. If you’re just starting to learn about the current Chinese regime, Party of One by Chun Han Wong would be a better first step. This analysis goes deeper than that though. If Party of One is a bachelor’s degree, this is grad school. It’s a relief to have such sound scholarship about Chinese politics available on audible, given all the amateurish nonsense out there.
Scholars and analysts of modern China can often listen to audiobooks in great frustration. Words and names are so often mispronounced by many narrators, never mind the incorrect tones, that it can be a pain to listen even if the text is good. That is, blessedly, not the case here. The narrator Rebecca Lam does a wonderful job with a text full of names and Communist Party of China jargon. It really makes it a pleasure to listen. Lam and everyone involved should be commended.

Turned heads

While the content may seem dry, and sometimes made people hearing me on my walks give me looks like I was a radical revolutionary myself, this was a good analysis of important stuff.

Was this written by AI?

Big boring words, a lot of useless information like names of people and specific dates of random events without making connection to why it’s even important to understanding Xi. Worst part, the book is very repetitive, basically saying Xi Thoughts are idealistic, vague, and we don’t really know what he is going to do. There, I sum up this book in less than a minute.

Shame on me

The reviews fooled me.
I thought this was going to be a good read.

Save your time and your money anda pick up the four volumes of The Governance of China.