CCP Introduces Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building as Analysts Warn of Mao-Era Return

Books about Chinese leader Xi Jinping on sale at a newsstand in Beijing on Aug. 19, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty ImagesAs China’s economy remains sluggish and political tensions inside the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) appear to be rising, Beijing has unveiled what it calls “Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building,” a new ideological doctrine that signals a shift toward a more centralized, Mao-style political system.The doctrine was formally introduced on June 15 at a national CCP conference on Party-building in Beijing, where senior officials emphasized loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and called on Party members to study his writings.