If a manufacturer does not need kilometer-long production lines, critical materials such as lithium or electrical parts for its products, you might quickly think that it would be easy to turn your back on China. Take software company SAP, for example. But it’s not that simple, as Clas Neumann, Vice President of SAP in Shanghai, explains in our interview. Neumann is responsible for the SAP Global Labs Network and thus has profound insights into the interconnections and mutual dependencies of software development in the People’s Republic and the rest of the world.
“It’s never a good thing to depend too much on one country or region,” says Neumann in conversation with Frank Sieren. “However, the alternatives have to be equal, otherwise you hurt yourself.” He says that in the wake of the zero-Covid policy, he has seen some companies slow down the pace in China a bit – but hardly anyone has left the Chinese market to any great extent. However, Neumann warns that China, and especially the previously popular metropolis of Shanghai, must be careful not to lose its diversity. This would be the only way for the location to remain interesting for young developers.
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party is five weeks away. We are already kicking off our series on the CP Congress today. Until October 16, we will provide you with insights and background information. You will also find them all on the China.Table website.
The 20th Party Congress will be a congress like none ever before. President Xi Jinping has overturned the succession mechanism that has been in place for decades. His plan is to focus more power on himself than any Chinese leader since the Mao era. As the countdown to the CP Congress begins, Beijing’s propaganda machine is cranking up and will praise the achievements of the past decade under Xi more than ever before, despite the country’s current economic woes and zero-Covid. Our author Christiane Kuehl has taken a look at the past CP Congresses: From one autocrat to consensus politics – and back around to the next autocrat?
Mr. Neumann, how important are young Chinese specialists for SAP now?
That has changed a great deal. Especiarea of software engineering, universities have caught up very quickly. 25 years ago, we set up a foundation with Siemens to provide the first Chinese universities with IT. At the time, they were 20 years behind. Today, students at the top universities have access to cutting-edge technology, including supercomputers. Now there are excellent people on the job market with very profound knowledge.
What does this mean for foreign specialists?
They are still needed. Even if the Chinese now understand engineering extremely well, this does not mean that they are at home in the depths of a complex SAP product. If I studied civil engineering with honors, I can’t build a huge, complex bridge right away. That takes many years of experience.
So China still needs many Western specialists?
The secret lies in cooperation and intelligent distribution of tasks, not only between Germany and China, but worldwide. India, for example, also plays a major role here. No one can do everything alone.
Also because Chinese are still cheaper?
Of course, entry-level wages in China are still significantly lower than in Germany. However, with more work experience, this quickly evens out. Nevertheless, a business location like China is still somewhat more favorable than Germany for software development.
Do the Chinese still want to leave the country at all?
Even though it’s not easy at the moment because of the zero-Covid strategy, we have not noticed a sharp drop in interest. This is probably also due to the fact that IT is a highly globalized business. Many new developments still come from the USA, more and more from China, and somewhat less from Europe. This cannot be separated and will continue to be internationally networked in the future. What is interesting here in China is that we have far more women in software development than in any other part of the world. China thus sets a completely new trend.
Has it surprised you that the Chinese are now so innovative?
No, I rather wondered where the assumption came from that the Chinese can only copy what was developed elsewhere. It has been clear for 15 years that Chinese IT companies were gaining in importance. It was basically just a question of how quickly their knowledge would mature. They have done it much faster than many observers expected. They are already world-class in some areas, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI). In others, the Chinese players are already within sight. That is why we at SAP looked after the Chinese market very early on.
What is different in China?
Pace plays a big role, as does the developers’ desire to push innovation potential to the limit.
And the clients?
They tend to be far more willing to try out new things. Of course, this happens more at a battery company that builds and digitizes a new factory every six months than at a more slow-growing company.
So is SAP China now faster than SAP Germany?
Let me put it this way: The attitude here is already very productive. “Will meets skill”. While people in Germany spend a lot of time analyzing things in depth and breadth, the Chinese simply give it a try.
But we still need the orchestra of global locations, because we also have other skills in Germany, like experience and precision, while others come from India and the USA. And only when all these skills come together is the best software created.
But after zero-Covid and the Shanghai lockdown, haven’t many of your Western clients concluded that it’s time to say goodbye to China or greatly reduce their dependence on it?
It is never a good thing to depend too much on one country or region. However, the alternatives must be of equal value, otherwise you harm yourself. That does not only apply to production, but also to software. And that is why some companies have slowed down a bit in China because of zero-Covid, but hardly anyone has left the Chinese market to any great extent. You have to be realistic. There is currently no alternative to the Chinese market for many companies.
You have worked in India as well as in China. Why is the economic gap between China and India narrowing so slowly? China has an 18 percent share of the global economy, India only has 4.5 percent.
Over the last two or even three decades, the gap has widened rather than narrowed. There are many reasons for this. India, which became independent 75 years ago, has spent decades in a kind of “Sleeping Beauty” slumber. The administration has had a hard time implementing large infrastructure projects, be it because of political or social opposition. But modern infrastructure is the foundation for a sustainably growing economy. It is at least as important that the ownership rights of land are clarified. This is a huge problem in India, especially when it comes to major infrastructure investments. And then again, you see that with foreign investment. China received $145 billion in FDI in 2021. India only 41 billion. Nevertheless, India will also play an increasingly important role far behind China. And the cooperation between China and India, despite all the political differences, will tend to become even stronger. Because making everything yourself is not a successful model for any country, not even for China. Even the world’s best violinists alone do not make a good symphony orchestra.
So a plea for global cooperation?
You have to look at these developments in longer time frames. For a long time, it seemed clear: Innovation comes to China from the West. The products we developed were built in China and then sold both in China and in the rest of the world. Now, in many industries, it already works both ways.
But so far, this has only been the case in major cities.
The hinterland is developing faster than one might expect. What is clear, however, is that a region like Shanghai and Jiangsu are trendsetters in China. Young talent likes to move to Shanghai, where most of the employees we employ in China are based. This is also the case in Germany. It’s easier for us to attract international talent in Berlin or Munich than at our headquarters in Walldorf. Big cities have an enormous appeal to Generation Z.
Has the lockdown made Shanghai much less attractive, not only nationally, but also internationally?
In any case, the lockdown has shown one thing: Shanghai must do more than ever to become a brand like New York or London. One must not forget: Diversity is what makes these international cities, that is, many different people from different cultures, with many different views and perspectives. Just being agile is no longer enough anymore. Because the competition does not sleep in the race for the best talent. With a degree in IT, I can get a work permit in virtually any country in the world today. These people have options, and they are taking advantage of them. Shanghai, and ultimately China as a whole, must prove itself in this environment.
Clas Neumann, Vice President of SAP in Shanghai, is responsible for the SAP Global Labs Network. Neumann holds a degree in economics from Ludwigshafen and an MBA from Management School INSEAD. He has lived in Asia for 20 years, mostly in China and India. Neumann is a visiting professor at Shanghai Tongji University and at the School of Economics and Management at the University of Technology in Dalian.
Ten years ago in November, seven men stepped before the journalists gathered in the Great Hall of the People: The new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, led by Xi Jinping – followed by the current Premier Li Keqiang and five other members. It was the end of the 18th CP Congress. For a decade, these men would form the highest circle of power, the expectation. After five years, a crown prince would move up to the committee in 2017, to succeed Xi in 2022. Xi, 59 at the time, was considered relatively inexperienced; his power base limited – especially because Li Keqiang was at his side, a protégé of Xi’s immediate predecessor Hu Jintao, who was considered comparatively reform-minded.
Now, a few weeks before the 20th Party Congress, which will convene on October 16, 2022, it is clear that nothing is as it seemed back then. Xi is now the most powerful CP leader since Mao Zedong. No crown prince surfaced in 2017. To remain in office, Xi arranged for the constitution to be changed. And now he is about to dismantle a party usurpation that has worked for decades to secure at least one more term in office at the age of 69.
Early state media reports on the party congress also suggest that the CCP will revise its constitution to include “important strategic thought”: A sign that Xi’s doctrine could take an even more central role.
Since the beginning of the reform era, it has been an unwritten law that the general secretary of the CCP, appointed at the party plenum that meets only every five years, remains at the top for a maximum of ten years – and then makes room for a successor. This successor is familiarized with the new task for five years during the leader’s second term. This was intended to ensure an institutional transfer of power without brutal power struggles like those in the days of Mao. Many of the top cadres also had unpleasant memories of the aged Mao: The disadvantages of rule for life were obvious.
But Xi wipes away all concerns. It is completely open how many more terms he wants to rule. In recent years, he has tailored China’s political system to suit his needs. He personally governs all organizations of the state, party and society (China.Table reported).
The party congresses, with their now roughly 2,300 delegates from all regions of China, have been held more or less continuously every five years since the founding of the CP in 1921. These party plenary sessions “elect” a new Central Committee (CC) with a good 200 members for a cycle of five years. The CC, in turn, appoints the 25-member Politburo and its Standing Committee, the actual seat of power of the CP. In the meantime, the Central Committee and Politburo only convene occasionally for plenary sessions. The Standing Committee makes the really important decisions.
These party congress cycles are strictly numbered: “The 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party” was held from October 18-24, 2017. Subsequent CC meetings are referred to it by name: In November 2021, for example, the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee met.
For the first 27 years of the People’s Republic, the “Great Chairman” Mao Zedong alone ruled the Party Congresses. He expanded or downsized the Politburo and other bodies at will. Reform patriarch Deng Xiaoping already had to consult with others when picking leadership cadres – particularly notorious were the conservative “Eight Immortals” party gangs from the Mao era. When Jiang Zemin became CCP general secretary after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the era of consensus politics began: The CP leadership positioned itself as a group, and Jiang was merely considered the “core” of the leadership. Jiang established the “Seven Up, Eight Down” rule: Cadres up to the age of 67 were allowed to stay or move up; from the age of 68, they had to retire.
Jiang’s successor Hu Jintao maintained this custom. He even opted for limited intraparty voting. Under his leadership, internal elections for CC members were held in 2007 and 2012 – with more candidates than seats – as well as informal votes on possible Politburo members in the style of the “straw polls” typical in US primaries. Xi Jinping was reportedly not a fan of these election procedures from the beginning, which went to the CP leadership during his rise to power. After the 19th Party Congress, the party leadership found alleged flaws in the “straw polls” and subsequently abolished them. A short time later, it became clear that Xi was in the process of undermining the entire institutionalized process for leadership change. Except for Xi himself, however, a generational change in the highest CP bodies is certainly to be expected.
Moreover, CP Congresses are the opportunity for respective CP leaders to have their ideologies enshrined in the Party charter to secure their place in the Party annals.
Jiang Zemin (1989 to 2002), for example, had his “Important Thought of Three Represents” (三个代表) written into the party constitution. In doing so, Jiang opened the CP to broader social strata, including private entrepreneurs and thus to former class enemies. Hu Jintao (2002 to 2012) created the “Scientific Development Concept,” which shifted the focus away from the Jiang-era focus on growth at all costs to a “people-centered” approach to development.
Xi Jinping, in turn, introduced the “The Road to Rejuvenation” and the “Chinese Dream” in a three-hour speech at the 19th Party Congress in 2017. This entered the Party Charter as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” The promise of a “New Era” (新时代), in which China would undergo a great period of development to become a full-fledged superpower, has been the hallmark of Xi’s rule ever since.
To this end, since the November 2021 CC plenum, the party has begun to propagate a new slogan: Xi’s “Two Establishments”(/两个确立). This new four-character phrase essentially establishes Xi Jinping as the unquestionable “core” leader of the CCP, and establishes Xi Jinping’s ideas as the bedrock of the future under what the CCP has termed the “New Era,” writes David Bandurski of the China Media Project in Hong Kong. The slogan marks “a claim to the legitimacy of Xi Jinping’s rule, and a challenge to any who might oppose him.” The upcoming CP congress is also expected to host a lengthy speech by Xi on his priorities for the next five years – or beyond.
As the countdown to the CP Congress begins, Beijing’s propaganda machine is cranking up and will praise the achievements of the past decade under Xi more than ever before, despite the country’s current economic woes and zero-Covid. At any rate, Xi seems confident in his position. He will soon travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, among others. This is not only Xi’s first foreign visit since the beginning of 2020, but it is also highly unusual for a CP leader to leave the country so shortly before a party congress.
Alexandra Stefanov keeps the German China community up to date on digital issues – and helps with everyday problems: “Many are surprised that they don’t get a quick response from China to their e-mails.” Stefanov knows why. Everything happens on the WeChat app in the People’s Republic. The 34-year-old also founded the consulting company China-Impulse to improve digital communication. Some of her clients wish to expand to China, while others want to pick up digital trends from the People’s Republic.
And those who want to enter the Chinese market have to completely rethink their marketing strategy. “It’s no use just translating the website into Chinese,” says Stefanov. It is much more important to use the popular Chinese platforms, she says. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn do not exist, after all.
Even before her graduation, Stefanov began to learn Chinese. She studied sinology in Heidelberg, Tianjin and Shanghai. She notices how little attention is paid to Chinese society in Germany: “Very, very many people here have never heard of WeChat.” That is where the idea for her company came from: German companies need tutoring in all things Chinese.
That is why Stefanov observes digital trends from the People’s Republic. And they exist in all kinds of everyday situations: The population is getting older and older, and there is a labor shortage. In China, for example, robots often handle service in the supermarket. Particularly popular are virtual influencers, AI-based figures who can host life shopping shows, for example.
“Virtual influencers and hosts are super popular in China right now,” Stefanov explains. But you can’t copy everything one-to-one in Europe, she adds. TikTok has reversed a similar concept after a trial period in the UK. “In this area, China is years ahead of us,” says Stefanov.
But the truth is that many technologies were able to develop so quickly in China because hardly anyone placed any value on data protection for a long time. Nevertheless, Stefanov believes that companies can also learn something from Chinese corporate culture. Many ideas are simply being tried out, she says. “In Germany, we have a hard time letting go of our perfectionism.” She also recommends setting long-term goals. In China, these are politically dictated. “I think, on a small scale, you can also implement these strategies in companies,” Stefanov says.
In addition to her work as a consultant, she also hosts a podcast, has written a book, and publishes a magazine. Once a month, she tells her subscribers about the most important news from China’s digital world in a livestream. Jana Hemmersmeier
If a manufacturer does not need kilometer-long production lines, critical materials such as lithium or electrical parts for its products, you might quickly think that it would be easy to turn your back on China. Take software company SAP, for example. But it’s not that simple, as Clas Neumann, Vice President of SAP in Shanghai, explains in our interview. Neumann is responsible for the SAP Global Labs Network and thus has profound insights into the interconnections and mutual dependencies of software development in the People’s Republic and the rest of the world.
“It’s never a good thing to depend too much on one country or region,” says Neumann in conversation with Frank Sieren. “However, the alternatives have to be equal, otherwise you hurt yourself.” He says that in the wake of the zero-Covid policy, he has seen some companies slow down the pace in China a bit – but hardly anyone has left the Chinese market to any great extent. However, Neumann warns that China, and especially the previously popular metropolis of Shanghai, must be careful not to lose its diversity. This would be the only way for the location to remain interesting for young developers.
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party is five weeks away. We are already kicking off our series on the CP Congress today. Until October 16, we will provide you with insights and background information. You will also find them all on the China.Table website.
The 20th Party Congress will be a congress like none ever before. President Xi Jinping has overturned the succession mechanism that has been in place for decades. His plan is to focus more power on himself than any Chinese leader since the Mao era. As the countdown to the CP Congress begins, Beijing’s propaganda machine is cranking up and will praise the achievements of the past decade under Xi more than ever before, despite the country’s current economic woes and zero-Covid. Our author Christiane Kuehl has taken a look at the past CP Congresses: From one autocrat to consensus politics – and back around to the next autocrat?
Mr. Neumann, how important are young Chinese specialists for SAP now?
That has changed a great deal. Especiarea of software engineering, universities have caught up very quickly. 25 years ago, we set up a foundation with Siemens to provide the first Chinese universities with IT. At the time, they were 20 years behind. Today, students at the top universities have access to cutting-edge technology, including supercomputers. Now there are excellent people on the job market with very profound knowledge.
What does this mean for foreign specialists?
They are still needed. Even if the Chinese now understand engineering extremely well, this does not mean that they are at home in the depths of a complex SAP product. If I studied civil engineering with honors, I can’t build a huge, complex bridge right away. That takes many years of experience.
So China still needs many Western specialists?
The secret lies in cooperation and intelligent distribution of tasks, not only between Germany and China, but worldwide. India, for example, also plays a major role here. No one can do everything alone.
Also because Chinese are still cheaper?
Of course, entry-level wages in China are still significantly lower than in Germany. However, with more work experience, this quickly evens out. Nevertheless, a business location like China is still somewhat more favorable than Germany for software development.
Do the Chinese still want to leave the country at all?
Even though it’s not easy at the moment because of the zero-Covid strategy, we have not noticed a sharp drop in interest. This is probably also due to the fact that IT is a highly globalized business. Many new developments still come from the USA, more and more from China, and somewhat less from Europe. This cannot be separated and will continue to be internationally networked in the future. What is interesting here in China is that we have far more women in software development than in any other part of the world. China thus sets a completely new trend.
Has it surprised you that the Chinese are now so innovative?
No, I rather wondered where the assumption came from that the Chinese can only copy what was developed elsewhere. It has been clear for 15 years that Chinese IT companies were gaining in importance. It was basically just a question of how quickly their knowledge would mature. They have done it much faster than many observers expected. They are already world-class in some areas, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI). In others, the Chinese players are already within sight. That is why we at SAP looked after the Chinese market very early on.
What is different in China?
Pace plays a big role, as does the developers’ desire to push innovation potential to the limit.
And the clients?
They tend to be far more willing to try out new things. Of course, this happens more at a battery company that builds and digitizes a new factory every six months than at a more slow-growing company.
So is SAP China now faster than SAP Germany?
Let me put it this way: The attitude here is already very productive. “Will meets skill”. While people in Germany spend a lot of time analyzing things in depth and breadth, the Chinese simply give it a try.
But we still need the orchestra of global locations, because we also have other skills in Germany, like experience and precision, while others come from India and the USA. And only when all these skills come together is the best software created.
But after zero-Covid and the Shanghai lockdown, haven’t many of your Western clients concluded that it’s time to say goodbye to China or greatly reduce their dependence on it?
It is never a good thing to depend too much on one country or region. However, the alternatives must be of equal value, otherwise you harm yourself. That does not only apply to production, but also to software. And that is why some companies have slowed down a bit in China because of zero-Covid, but hardly anyone has left the Chinese market to any great extent. You have to be realistic. There is currently no alternative to the Chinese market for many companies.
You have worked in India as well as in China. Why is the economic gap between China and India narrowing so slowly? China has an 18 percent share of the global economy, India only has 4.5 percent.
Over the last two or even three decades, the gap has widened rather than narrowed. There are many reasons for this. India, which became independent 75 years ago, has spent decades in a kind of “Sleeping Beauty” slumber. The administration has had a hard time implementing large infrastructure projects, be it because of political or social opposition. But modern infrastructure is the foundation for a sustainably growing economy. It is at least as important that the ownership rights of land are clarified. This is a huge problem in India, especially when it comes to major infrastructure investments. And then again, you see that with foreign investment. China received $145 billion in FDI in 2021. India only 41 billion. Nevertheless, India will also play an increasingly important role far behind China. And the cooperation between China and India, despite all the political differences, will tend to become even stronger. Because making everything yourself is not a successful model for any country, not even for China. Even the world’s best violinists alone do not make a good symphony orchestra.
So a plea for global cooperation?
You have to look at these developments in longer time frames. For a long time, it seemed clear: Innovation comes to China from the West. The products we developed were built in China and then sold both in China and in the rest of the world. Now, in many industries, it already works both ways.
But so far, this has only been the case in major cities.
The hinterland is developing faster than one might expect. What is clear, however, is that a region like Shanghai and Jiangsu are trendsetters in China. Young talent likes to move to Shanghai, where most of the employees we employ in China are based. This is also the case in Germany. It’s easier for us to attract international talent in Berlin or Munich than at our headquarters in Walldorf. Big cities have an enormous appeal to Generation Z.
Has the lockdown made Shanghai much less attractive, not only nationally, but also internationally?
In any case, the lockdown has shown one thing: Shanghai must do more than ever to become a brand like New York or London. One must not forget: Diversity is what makes these international cities, that is, many different people from different cultures, with many different views and perspectives. Just being agile is no longer enough anymore. Because the competition does not sleep in the race for the best talent. With a degree in IT, I can get a work permit in virtually any country in the world today. These people have options, and they are taking advantage of them. Shanghai, and ultimately China as a whole, must prove itself in this environment.
Clas Neumann, Vice President of SAP in Shanghai, is responsible for the SAP Global Labs Network. Neumann holds a degree in economics from Ludwigshafen and an MBA from Management School INSEAD. He has lived in Asia for 20 years, mostly in China and India. Neumann is a visiting professor at Shanghai Tongji University and at the School of Economics and Management at the University of Technology in Dalian.
Ten years ago in November, seven men stepped before the journalists gathered in the Great Hall of the People: The new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, led by Xi Jinping – followed by the current Premier Li Keqiang and five other members. It was the end of the 18th CP Congress. For a decade, these men would form the highest circle of power, the expectation. After five years, a crown prince would move up to the committee in 2017, to succeed Xi in 2022. Xi, 59 at the time, was considered relatively inexperienced; his power base limited – especially because Li Keqiang was at his side, a protégé of Xi’s immediate predecessor Hu Jintao, who was considered comparatively reform-minded.
Now, a few weeks before the 20th Party Congress, which will convene on October 16, 2022, it is clear that nothing is as it seemed back then. Xi is now the most powerful CP leader since Mao Zedong. No crown prince surfaced in 2017. To remain in office, Xi arranged for the constitution to be changed. And now he is about to dismantle a party usurpation that has worked for decades to secure at least one more term in office at the age of 69.
Early state media reports on the party congress also suggest that the CCP will revise its constitution to include “important strategic thought”: A sign that Xi’s doctrine could take an even more central role.
Since the beginning of the reform era, it has been an unwritten law that the general secretary of the CCP, appointed at the party plenum that meets only every five years, remains at the top for a maximum of ten years – and then makes room for a successor. This successor is familiarized with the new task for five years during the leader’s second term. This was intended to ensure an institutional transfer of power without brutal power struggles like those in the days of Mao. Many of the top cadres also had unpleasant memories of the aged Mao: The disadvantages of rule for life were obvious.
But Xi wipes away all concerns. It is completely open how many more terms he wants to rule. In recent years, he has tailored China’s political system to suit his needs. He personally governs all organizations of the state, party and society (China.Table reported).
The party congresses, with their now roughly 2,300 delegates from all regions of China, have been held more or less continuously every five years since the founding of the CP in 1921. These party plenary sessions “elect” a new Central Committee (CC) with a good 200 members for a cycle of five years. The CC, in turn, appoints the 25-member Politburo and its Standing Committee, the actual seat of power of the CP. In the meantime, the Central Committee and Politburo only convene occasionally for plenary sessions. The Standing Committee makes the really important decisions.
These party congress cycles are strictly numbered: “The 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party” was held from October 18-24, 2017. Subsequent CC meetings are referred to it by name: In November 2021, for example, the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee met.
For the first 27 years of the People’s Republic, the “Great Chairman” Mao Zedong alone ruled the Party Congresses. He expanded or downsized the Politburo and other bodies at will. Reform patriarch Deng Xiaoping already had to consult with others when picking leadership cadres – particularly notorious were the conservative “Eight Immortals” party gangs from the Mao era. When Jiang Zemin became CCP general secretary after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the era of consensus politics began: The CP leadership positioned itself as a group, and Jiang was merely considered the “core” of the leadership. Jiang established the “Seven Up, Eight Down” rule: Cadres up to the age of 67 were allowed to stay or move up; from the age of 68, they had to retire.
Jiang’s successor Hu Jintao maintained this custom. He even opted for limited intraparty voting. Under his leadership, internal elections for CC members were held in 2007 and 2012 – with more candidates than seats – as well as informal votes on possible Politburo members in the style of the “straw polls” typical in US primaries. Xi Jinping was reportedly not a fan of these election procedures from the beginning, which went to the CP leadership during his rise to power. After the 19th Party Congress, the party leadership found alleged flaws in the “straw polls” and subsequently abolished them. A short time later, it became clear that Xi was in the process of undermining the entire institutionalized process for leadership change. Except for Xi himself, however, a generational change in the highest CP bodies is certainly to be expected.
Moreover, CP Congresses are the opportunity for respective CP leaders to have their ideologies enshrined in the Party charter to secure their place in the Party annals.
Jiang Zemin (1989 to 2002), for example, had his “Important Thought of Three Represents” (三个代表) written into the party constitution. In doing so, Jiang opened the CP to broader social strata, including private entrepreneurs and thus to former class enemies. Hu Jintao (2002 to 2012) created the “Scientific Development Concept,” which shifted the focus away from the Jiang-era focus on growth at all costs to a “people-centered” approach to development.
Xi Jinping, in turn, introduced the “The Road to Rejuvenation” and the “Chinese Dream” in a three-hour speech at the 19th Party Congress in 2017. This entered the Party Charter as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” The promise of a “New Era” (新时代), in which China would undergo a great period of development to become a full-fledged superpower, has been the hallmark of Xi’s rule ever since.
To this end, since the November 2021 CC plenum, the party has begun to propagate a new slogan: Xi’s “Two Establishments”(/两个确立). This new four-character phrase essentially establishes Xi Jinping as the unquestionable “core” leader of the CCP, and establishes Xi Jinping’s ideas as the bedrock of the future under what the CCP has termed the “New Era,” writes David Bandurski of the China Media Project in Hong Kong. The slogan marks “a claim to the legitimacy of Xi Jinping’s rule, and a challenge to any who might oppose him.” The upcoming CP congress is also expected to host a lengthy speech by Xi on his priorities for the next five years – or beyond.
As the countdown to the CP Congress begins, Beijing’s propaganda machine is cranking up and will praise the achievements of the past decade under Xi more than ever before, despite the country’s current economic woes and zero-Covid. At any rate, Xi seems confident in his position. He will soon travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, among others. This is not only Xi’s first foreign visit since the beginning of 2020, but it is also highly unusual for a CP leader to leave the country so shortly before a party congress.
Alexandra Stefanov keeps the German China community up to date on digital issues – and helps with everyday problems: “Many are surprised that they don’t get a quick response from China to their e-mails.” Stefanov knows why. Everything happens on the WeChat app in the People’s Republic. The 34-year-old also founded the consulting company China-Impulse to improve digital communication. Some of her clients wish to expand to China, while others want to pick up digital trends from the People’s Republic.
And those who want to enter the Chinese market have to completely rethink their marketing strategy. “It’s no use just translating the website into Chinese,” says Stefanov. It is much more important to use the popular Chinese platforms, she says. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn do not exist, after all.
Even before her graduation, Stefanov began to learn Chinese. She studied sinology in Heidelberg, Tianjin and Shanghai. She notices how little attention is paid to Chinese society in Germany: “Very, very many people here have never heard of WeChat.” That is where the idea for her company came from: German companies need tutoring in all things Chinese.
That is why Stefanov observes digital trends from the People’s Republic. And they exist in all kinds of everyday situations: The population is getting older and older, and there is a labor shortage. In China, for example, robots often handle service in the supermarket. Particularly popular are virtual influencers, AI-based figures who can host life shopping shows, for example.
“Virtual influencers and hosts are super popular in China right now,” Stefanov explains. But you can’t copy everything one-to-one in Europe, she adds. TikTok has reversed a similar concept after a trial period in the UK. “In this area, China is years ahead of us,” says Stefanov.
But the truth is that many technologies were able to develop so quickly in China because hardly anyone placed any value on data protection for a long time. Nevertheless, Stefanov believes that companies can also learn something from Chinese corporate culture. Many ideas are simply being tried out, she says. “In Germany, we have a hard time letting go of our perfectionism.” She also recommends setting long-term goals. In China, these are politically dictated. “I think, on a small scale, you can also implement these strategies in companies,” Stefanov says.
In addition to her work as a consultant, she also hosts a podcast, has written a book, and publishes a magazine. Once a month, she tells her subscribers about the most important news from China’s digital world in a livestream. Jana Hemmersmeier
