The Western media has spent over a decade demonising Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC), portraying them as authoritarian boogeymen.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth for the West: Xi and the CPC have delivered more for the Chinese people and the world, than most Western leaders could ever dream of.
Born in 1953 into a revolutionary family, Xi Jinping’s early life was far from privileged. During the Cultural Revolution, Xi was sent to a remote village in Shaanxi. There, he lived in a cave dwelling, carried manure and slept on a brick bed. Rather than becoming bitter, Xi hardened. He reapplied to join the Communist Party after being initially rejected and worked his way up from village official to provincial governor, from city-level leadership to Shanghai Party Secretary, before eventually joining the Politburo Standing Committee. By 2012, he had earned, not inherited, his place at the top of China’s political system.
Since then, Xi has reshaped China in ways that few leaders in modern history can claim. His most lauded achievement at home is the complete eradication of extreme poverty. In 2020, China announced it had eliminated extreme poverty across the country, a feat achieved through massive infrastructure investment, targeted social policies and direct involvement by CPC officials at every level. This final phase of China’s long anti-poverty campaign focused on reaching remote rural communities, lifting millions out of hardship not with handouts, but with opportunity: jobs, education, clean water and modern housing. The UN has acknowledged that over 70% of global poverty reduction occurred in China. Meanwhile, the rest of the world talks about equality; China has been doing it.
Hand-in-hand with poverty alleviation has been China’s awe-inspiring infrastructure boom. Under Xi’s leadership, the nation built the world’s largest high-speed rail network, over 45,000 kilometres of it, more than the rest of the world combined. Megaprojects like the South–North Water Transfer Project, hundreds of new smart cities and record-breaking tunnels, bridges and airports have transformed China’s physical landscape. This is infrastructure on a civilisational scale, delivered in a matter of years, not decades.
Western attempts to technologically isolate China have backfired. Far from stifling innovation, the sanctions accelerated it. Huawei, despite being blacklisted by the U.S., developed its own 7nm chips. China has landed a rover on Mars, built its own space station and is leading in quantum computing, 5G and AI patents. While some countries export ideology or bombs, China is exporting satellites, electric vehicles and solar panels.
Nowhere is China’s leadership clearer than in green technology. The country leads the world in solar and wind energy production. It sold more than 8 million electric vehicles in 2023, more than the entire West combined. In 2024 alone, China planted 13.35 billion trees and built more than 3 million EV charging stations, with 1.5 million of those being fast chargers. The country has committed to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and full carbon neutrality by 2060. With its massive investment in clean tech, afforestation and ecological revitalisation, China isn’t just trying to clean up its past, it’s actively building a green future.
During the pandemic, while the West descended into chaos, mass death and protest, China kept the virus largely at bay for two full years. Zero-COVID policies, including mass testing, quarantine centres and rapid hospital construction, meant that daily life in most of China remained normal while Western nations struggled with waves of infection. Only once Omicron made containment unsustainable did China recalibrate, but by then, millions of lives had been saved.
At home, Xi Jinping has launched the most comprehensive anti-corruption campaign in modern history. Over 1.5 million officials have been investigated or punished, including high-ranking generals and political heavyweights. This was no media stunt, it was a system-wide clean-out. The message was clear: no one is above the law, not even the powerful.
In terms of governance, China has rejected the Western model of loud elections followed by paralysis and scandal. Instead, it practices what it calls Whole-Process People’s Democracy. Local elections happen across the country, with over 900 million people participating in the most recent round. Public consultation is required before major laws are passed. People’s congresses represent workers, women, minorities and farmers, not just the elite. China’s system prioritises results and accountability, not theatrics. It may not be the Western definition of democracy, but 90% of Chinese citizens say they trust their government, compared to less than 40% in the U.S., UK and Japan.
Internationally, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has redefined diplomacy. Rather than bombs and regime change, China exports roads, hospitals, ports and trade. Over 150 countries have signed on, many in the Global South. While critics call it “debt diplomacy,” the reality is that BRI offers infrastructure, connection and economic development, without the conditions and interference often seen in IMF or World Bank loans.
China’s economic model has also shifted under Xi. The “Dual Circulation” strategy focuses on domestic demand and internal innovation, while still maintaining strong trade ties abroad. Despite sanctions, trade wars and COVID, China’s economy remains resilient. It has already surpassed the U.S. in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms and is on track to lead nominal GDP as well.
What sets China apart, above all, is stability. While Western societies experience social fragmentation, polarisation and endless political deadlock, China offers predictability, long-term planning and social cohesion. There are no mass shootings, no government shutdowns, no fuel riots. There is national unity, direction and competence. For the average Chinese person, that means peace, safety and opportunity.
By 2049, the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic, China under Xi and the CPC aims to become the world’s leading economic and technological power, with a fully modernised military, a unified Taiwan and a multipolar world order where no single country dominates others. That vision is based not on conquest, but on sovereignty, dignity and mutual respect.
You don’t have to agree with China’s model. But the numbers don’t lie. In just over a decade, Xi Jinping and the CPC have:
· Lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty
· Built the most advanced infrastructure system on Earth
· Led the world in clean energy
· Surged ahead in high technology despite sanctions
· Preserved social order while democracies unravel
· Offered real partnerships to the Global South
· And delivered for the people, not corporations
That’s not authoritarianism. That’s competence. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time the world stopped mocking and started learning.
Source: X
