Like the leaders before him, Chinese President Xi Jinping understands that the biggest problem facing a ruling party is how to prevent it from becoming divorced from the people. Being president of a country with one fifth of all humanity and the fastest-growing large economy is a wonderful platform from which to write a book, and Xi has done just that with Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, his attempt to recount the ways in which the Communist Party of China (CPC) remains married to the people.

Xi grasps the power of the proverb: "A fish rots from the head down." Leadership is the root cause of an organization's failure. When an organization or state fails, it is the leadership, or lack thereof, that is the root cause. Xi seems to understand that leadership and accountability must begin at the top. Therefore, his book is sprinkled with an anti-corruption directive.

Shortly after becoming general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, Xi warned that corruption has the potential to not only bring about the demise of a party, but also bring about the downfall of a government. Xi spoke powerfully about the need to reverse out-of-control corruption that he acknowledged in other nations, which was directly responsible for political unrest and the ultimate collapse of those governments.

His anti-corruption campaign has gone after both tigers and flies, both senior and junior officials with misconduct. Xi exhorts Party leaders to conduct the people's business in a more down-to-earth way without enriching themselves at their expense.

His strong anti-corruption language signals to the world that the CPC will not tolerate abuse of official power. Once, while speaking to his colleagues in the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi reminded them by using an old Chinese proverb, "Things must first rot before worms grow." He clearly sees corruption as a threat to the legitimacy of the CPC and its leadership.

In the first pages of Volume I of his book, Xi lays down a marker in his speech The People's Wish for a Good Life Is Our Goal when he says, "We are taking on this important responsibility for the Party. Dedicated to serving the people, our Party has led them in making remarkable achievements, which we have every reason to be proud of. Nevertheless, we should never be complacent and rest on our

laurels. In the new circumstances our Party faces many severe challenges as well as many pressing issues within the Party that need to be addressed, particularly corruption, being divorced from the people, and being satisfied merely with going through formalities and bureaucracy on the part of some Party officials. We must make every effort to solve such problems."

Xi made it plain that Party members should take a clear stand against corruption and remain vigilant about the abuse of power by relatives.

The Chinese people are not oblivious to corruption and abuse of power by unscrupulous officials. Notably, Internet users, including microbloggers, often expose the ugly underbelly of corruption in China.

The West had its share of corruption during its industrial revolution. The United States is not as pure as falling snow when it comes to corruption. In his book, The Age of Capital: 1848-1875, Eric Hobsbawm points out that the United States was "the most lawless place on earth, with rampant corruption."

As Xi obviously grasps, the world has witnessed what happens when corruption levels become intolerable for the public. Serve the People is a political slogan which originated from the title of a speech by Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1944, as the Party struggled to take power.

The Chinese Dream is the completed rejuvenation of the nation by no later than the celebration of the centenary of the People's Republic of China in 2049.

The world needs China to succeed. Without maintaining a "mandate from heaven," this is impossible. Proper governance of China is important to the people of China and all of humanity.

The author is advisor to the Michigan-China Innovation Center in the United States

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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