In aiming to seize a third term as China’s paramount leader at the impending 20th Party Congress, Xi Jinping has broken decades-long leadership norms put in place following the disastrous tenure of Communist China’s revolutionary founder, Mao Zedong. Many have compared Xi’s moves to a second coming of Mao. He frequently invokes Mao’s revolutionary slogans to justify his strategies, imitates Mao in speeches, and visits places that commemorate Mao.
But how does Mao’s legacy help us understand Xi and his approach to governing China moving forward?
