There has been much research attempting to shed light on the rise of China. A study by Kalimuddin and Anderson(2) addressed China’s use of soft power, with examples such as the Confucius Institutes or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Shenkar(3) correlated the advancement of the Chinese economy with its unique model of governance which is a concentrated governing mechanism that does not align with the democratic form seen in the United States. Interestingly, a paper by Tanner(4) characterized how China under the governing period of Xi Jinping reacted to its struggle with the Leninist style, which focused on reinforcing the superior position of the Party. Thus, it is obvious that several exceptional factors could be explored by looking into how China has managed to acquire its current power. China has certainly not only relied on luck or the changing environment of international politics to yield this huge gain. Instead, its success can be attributed to the huge factor of domestic politics in which the position of the CCP is dominant.

This paper, by analyzing the economic policy adopted by China under the lead of the CCP and the ideology of this party, aims at further contributing to the existing studies about the abnormal expansion of China’s power. The central concern will certainly concentrate on the role of the CCP as the guiding force. The paper will use evidence and other information from past research as well as other sources for the purpose of showing how the role its two pivotal factors of economic power and ideology have led to China’s success. Specifically, this paper will focus on how the CCP has taken advantage of its dominance in governance to formulate a strong system of ideology and manage the economy under the orientation of the state. The rest of the paper will be constituted of the following parts. The first section will aim at further explanation of how China has been expanding its power, not only in the Asian region, but also across the globe. The second section concerns the role of the CCP in reinforcing its ideology and formulating a workable economic system which has greatly fostered the development of the country. The third section concentrates on discussing prospective challenges forcing adjustment in the CCP’s approach from the economic and ideological perspectives.

China on the way to realizing itself as global power

China’s engagement and influence in the Asian region Within the Asian continent, China has firmly reinforced its role as an active power in regional issues. Several restorations have been conducted during the tenure of the incumbent President, Xi Jinping(5). Such a period, obviously, can be regarded as a landmark for this country to pave the way to higher levels of expansion. Compared to the 20th century, in which countries belonging to the communist bloc were reluctant to diversify their ties to other nations outside the communist sphere, China today has become a key player with countries in Asia, despite their differences in political ideologies. Today, China has keenly joined activities conducted by such prominent regional organizations as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It also participates in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to create a forum with Russia and the Central Asian region(6). China also has shown its commitment to the issue of security by engaging in the discussions to resolve the nuclear issue of North Korea(7).

The enhancement of China’s commitment in global issues

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, there were hardly any countries that could overturn the global order dominated by the United States. Yet China, with its prosperous economic resources as a significant factor, has been emerging and stretching its strong ties with regions beyond Asia. It is obvious that the ambition of China is not solely bound within its home continent. Indeed, the rise of China in the global order is synchronized with the reinforcement of Asian’s importance in general. Apart from China, Asia is also the home of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, as well as India and, somewhat less, Russia. Thus, being the largest power in this strategic continent has allowed China to enhance its power internationally. Economically, China is the most important trading partner with more countries than the largest economy – the United States(8). Furthermore, the commitment of China to global issues does not stop in the economic sphere. China has done a great job to actively engage in far-flung activities. One important example is the presence of China in Africa for the purpose of preserving peace on that continent(9). The presence of this Asian power is also witnessed in the security issues occurring in such hotspots as Iran and Sudan(10). Although China has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC-P5) since the organization’s founding, China’s voice has now growing as a leader, and is not easily challenged. Not only through the security channel of hard power, China is also expanding its influence globally by its use of soft power, by the prominent establishment of Confucius Institutes in several countries across the globe(11).

Insight into the CCP’s role in China’s expansion of power – the dynamics of its ideological and economic push.

The CCP and the economic platform for China’s development

China’s huge population gives it one clear advantage, but it is definitely not the only factor the world can use to explain its success. One advantage of having one leading party, as seen in the Chinese model, is its ability to centralize and to unify all of the needed resources and orient them toward a common vision. However, apart from keeping its core ideology, the CCP has formed a highly creative model in building a prosperous economic dynamic for the extension of Chinese influence with the designation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) as one prominent example. The economic approach of China also showcases its inclination towards global cooperation. While the United States has been limiting its economic assistance overseas, China, with its Belt and Road Initiative, is set to expend a huge amount of money(12).

With regard to cooperation with its neighbors, the formation of the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is valued at 46 billion USD, can be considered one prominent example(13). China is also a pioneering founder of the AIIB since 2015, which has a comparable capital capacity to the World Bank and involves the participation of 50 countries(14). It is ironic that the World Bank is evidence of the global economic order created and led by the United States after the Second World War through the Bretton Woods system. Thus, the rising economic influence of China is not just about its growing economy, but also a potential transformation of the order which has been American-led and dominated for decades.

The CCP and China’s rise: from the ideological perspective

Another important point shown by Zhao(15), is that the CCP under the tenure of Xi since 2012 has also significantly reinforced the ideological basis that is formed from the combination of communist and Leninist ideology with nationalism. As Zhao has explained, the incorporation of a nationalist perspective into the ideology has proven its effect in nurturing the sense of attachment in Chinese people to the state as well as to its progressive development. This point shows a unique characteristic in the emergence of China’s power, in which the people are highly influenced and oriented by the ideology of the leading party. To a certain degree, this reflects the example of the Soviet Union in the last century, especially in its development plans to revitalize its economy and expand its power.

There is also further evidence, despite not fully relating to the ideological issue, but showing the effort of the CCP to purify the bureaucratic system which eventually transforms the ideology of the party into practice. The serious effort of the CCP to combat against corruption, even with those at the top level of bureaucracy, raises more incentive for political leaders to be held to higher accountability. It has been shown that the war on corruption in China under the tenure of incumbent president Xi Jinping has been one of the most significant measures of the past 70 years(16). Altogether with its economic policy, by pushing such a program, the CCP has succeeded in satisfying three goals: 1) taking advantage of its large population size, 2) investing its tremendous capital resources and 3) purifying its bureaucracy to function as its governing system.

Future challenges and the transformation of the CCP in its ideology and economic policy

Looking into the secret of China’s success, the CCP has prepared for China’s development in a highly thorough manner, in which both material and ideological factors are robustly built. Concentrating this analysis on these two factors is essential, not only in explaining the accomplishment of the CCP to this point but also to making a sound prediction for the future evolution of China’s power. Still, China, with no doubt, is obliged to reinforce several factors apart from its economic capability and its ideology to fully realize itself as a global power. Nevertheless, its economic success and strong ideology, which has been a root for its development so far, will continue to be a pillar for Chinese development in the future.

The demand for an improved ideological basis of the party

As China furthers its current rapid growth and accelerates its position in the global order, the global attention, as well as pressure, will be tremendous. Therefore, securing domestic support must be among the first priorities of the CCP. Apart from maintaining and advancing current successful development, , the CCP must reinforce its ideological foundation. That is a prerequisite for China to effectively gather all its necessary resources to keep advancing its successful development. Building an ideology with the maintenance of its core but with the ability to adapt to the transformation of the globe is essential. This needs to take into account the significant presence of the young Chinese generation studying abroad, which leads to the issue of how to attract this generation to the vision of the CCP. Indeed, as Zweig and Wang(17) have pointed out, the government has been showcasing its high determination to attract the Chinese living overseas. Such an attempt by its ministries has yet demonstrated a fruitful outcome, which has forced the CCP to strengthen its engagement in the task. Apart from its concern toward the young Chinese generation overseas, its attention to the political sentiment of domestic youngsters is also notable. This is demonstrated via a study conducted by Lin, Sun and Yang(18). Their research shows that a significant proportion of university students do not express an interest in politics or are even inclined towards liberal ideas(19). Thus, this issue and future challenges are real. Considering such a situation, it is just a matter of time before the CCP must improve and advance its ideology to ensure that the orientation of the Party retains its legitimacy, especially considering the rising negative portrait of China, and particularly the CCP, by international media.

One option is to focus further on encouraging the progressive ideologies of human resources operating the governance of the CCP. Since the 1980s, the criteria for selection of officials by the CCP has seen a transformation, with a significant emphasis on seeking revolutionary individuals(20).Such credentials will still be paramount in the upcoming years. Aside from which, it is pivotal to recall the existence of Party schools in China as the provider of ideological research and education for officers(21). In the future transformation in ideology of the CCP, those institutes would also certainly be key tools for the Party to achieve its objectives.

The reinforcement of ideology by the CCP is also essential for the government to obtain domestic support, particularly regarding international turmoil that China finds itself involved in. Nevertheless, such an expansion of influence does not arrive perfectly formed. The reinforcement of China’s position in Asia must be done simultaneously with the management of territorial disputes and conflicts within these regions. The counterparts to such conflicts, unfortunately, are either pivotal Asian countries, such as Japan and India, or strategic regions such as Southeast Asia. These issues could become a sensitive obstacle for China to fully establish a leading position, and most importantly, express a willingness to accept the lead and to cooperate with other Asian nations. Taking the example of Taiwan, despite its expansion of power, China is still struggling to unify the island, a territory this powerhouse regards as inseparable. Scobell(22) has even further emphasized the confrontation between China and Taiwan as a way for the CCP to define itself as the legitimate governing party of the country. The need for control over Taiwan also means bringing this country to the brink of further confrontation with the United States. Even without the intervention of the Americans, China’s plan is clearly not painless, considering the opposition from Taipei led by President Tsai IngWen.

Another recent issue is the containment of Covid-19, which somehow affected the international image of China. Those troubles altogether pose a huge challenge for the CCP to reinforce the ultimate support from its citizen, so that the party can keep conducting its development agenda. Concerning that situation, the adaptation of the CCP’s ideology towards such a territorial issue is a significant need in ensuring the support of its citizens, at least those who reside on the mainland, towards such a turmoil.

The CCP’s ideology in the international context

The ambition of China to reinforce its global influence has done well via the economic channel, for example via the Belt and Road Initiative as pointed out by Nye(23). However, the economic tie, despite its ability to be pervasive, cannot guarantee the utmost solidarity between China and its beneficiaries within those assistance or investment projects. Indeed, re-visiting history, the power which most closely reflects the ideological basis of China today was the Soviet Union during the Cold War period. The spread of communist ideology to Eastern Europe and several countries after the Second World, including China, created a solid bond among such countries beyond the superficial economic returns. Even the United States also takes advantage of ideology centering on liberal democratic values to seek international support. Even with China’s huge population domestically and internationally, gathering support on a global scale beyond the sphere of Chinese nationality is still crucial. Recalling the point mentioned by Zhao(24) about the inclusion of nationalism into the communist ideology of the CCP, its effect has been certainly justified among the Chinese people. However, its impact on the international community has been very limited. Furthermore, it is possible that that very nationalist core could even be an obstacle for the CCP if the party aims at formulating an ideology which can apply to citizens from different countries.