If the Jackboot Fits

China's Evolution into a Fascist State

Draft of the National Emblem of the People's Republic of China proposed by Tsinghua University, 1950 (Public Domain)

Introduction: China’s Shift from Communism to Fascism

China may still be nominally communist. But in practice, the country has traversed the expanse of authoritarianism’s political spectrum. China has evolved into its own form of a fascist state. It may be argued, as Dr. Jin Kai, an Associate Professor at Guangdong Academy of Social Science, did in an article in The Diplomat in 2015, that Westerners have a habit of failing to understand Chinese politics outside of their own Eurocentric terms, and therefore some fall in into the trap of mis-categorizing China as fascist.^[1] Yet despite the fact that China has not embraced fascism itself as a political philosophy, and will likely never do so, the form that it has taken bears so many similarities that it cannot escape this classification. Like all other forms of government, this extreme form of national socialism takes on a distinct character reflecting the nation-state in which it manifests. This author terms China’s version as Sino-Fascism. This new form of fascism blends the Chinese Communist Party’s, “Marxist-Leninist beliefs and the party’s extreme interpretation of Chinese nationalism”.^[2] The resulting retainment of collectivist beliefs with ultra-nationalist elements resulted in the evaporation of the internationalist worldview, integral to genuine Marxist ideology. The CCP’s subsequent endorsement of nationalism paved the way for the growth of an ethnocentric worldview and the emergence of explicitly imperialist policies and practices. As mounting national aspirations of domination eclipsed the goal of socialist revolution, the Chinese Communist Party saw fit to abandon a pure collectivist economy in favor of a state-directed market system, akin to the type found in fascist countries. These four changes; Nationalism, ethnocentrism, imperialism, and implementation of a market economy, are qualities that are incompatible with Marxist thought, but essential aspects of fascist thinking. Most importantly, China’s abandonment of communism’s ostensible goal of a classless world order in favor of one that explicitly calls for global hegemony is characteristic of the doctrine of fascism. China is thus, a fascist state. This is likely due to the CCP’s recognition of the untenability of Marxist concepts such as a state-directed collectivist economy, and internationalism, an idea that seeks to transcend national boundaries and reframe conflicts into class struggles. Given this, China serves as a case study for the tendency of communist countries to evolve, or perhaps devolve, into fascist ones.

In practice, fascist and communist states, being essentially autocratic, have more common ground than one may initially expect. This is why a transition from communism to fascism is so feasible. In fact, it only really takes a few tweaks to do so. This is because, despite their ideological differences (nationalistic vs. internationalist, collective vs. free market economy, etc.) both government models maintain an ideological basis that promotes militarism, police states, charismatic dictators, and a prioritization of collective/ state needs over individual ones. There was no need for a political revolution, or major upheaval of any kind. Communist China’s political structure shared so much in common with fascist states that its shift toward a hyper-nationalistic, market-driven empire simply required shifts in practical policy and doctrine.

The Adoption of an Ideological Foundation Consistent with Fascism

First and foremost, China’s governing philosophy is more akin to a fascist state than a communist one. This explicit embracement of Fascist sentiment in China is plainly evident. There, “individual human rights, including freedom of speech, assembly, and religion are to be subjugated in the name of the collective ends of security, development, and the Chinese nation’s status in the world.”^[3] The CCP asserts that the flourishing of the individual can only be realized by binding itself with the union of the state. As Xi Jinping stated in a 2012 speech,

“History shows that the future and destiny of each and every one of us are closely linked to those of our country and nation …One can do well only when one’s country and nation do well. Achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is both a glorious and an arduous mission that requires the dedicated efforts of the Chinese people one generation after another.”^[4]

This sounds very close to Benito Mussolini’s own statements in the Doctrine of Fascism, in which the future Il Duce of Italy wrote,

“Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual.... The Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism, is totalitarian, and the Fascist State — a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values —interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people.”^[5]

This demonstrates that China’s goals are very much akin to fascist ideology. It also illustrates the openness by which they embrace them. This explicitness is noteworthy, because it represents another similarity between The People’s Republic of China and a Fascist state. While both communist and fascist governments manifest as brutal dictatorships, communist ideology plays a duplicitous role. It promises justice, equality, and democracy. Yet it delivers little more than material austerity and forced subjugation. Marxism’s theoretical assertion that sovereignty lies in the people is proven a sham as communist regimes implement top-down governing practices and crushes any and all dissent. Fascism, by contrast, openly and shamelessly proclaims its commitment to statism, asserting that all social human activity flows from the state, and that there is no place for individuals outside of it. It rejects the Enlightenment-era claim that the nation (the people) generate the state, in favor of the belief that the state creates the nation and bestows upon it its character.^[6] This latter attitude better represents the CCP’s current posture.

This exposes the close ideological link between today’s Chinese Communist Party and Fascism. To some, it may seem uncanny to imagine that a far-left communist country could evolve into a fascist state. After all, the conventional political worldview in the United States places the two paradigms on opposite ends of the political spectrum, representing extreme forms of left and right-wing thought. However, contrary to the view still accepted by many Americans today, Fascism and Marxist-Leninist Communism are simply two sides of the same authoritarian coin. China is not essentially Communist, nor is it fundamentally Fascist. At its core, it is a totalitarian state, one which has simply replaced many of its Marxist-Leninist practices and ideologies with fascist ones. In other words, the same tyrant simply took his left boot off the neck of the people and replaced it with the right. This would explain the ease and smoothness by which the communist regime was able to cultivate Chinese nationalism among its people, promote extreme ethnocentrism, embrace the market system, and implement expansionist policies while dropping communist revolutionary endeavors. Had the two models been as antagonistic as our flawed view suggested, China would have probably experienced noticeable political tremors as it traversed the political ideological landscape. This, of course, didn’t happen, demonstrating how superficial the contrast between a communist and fascist state really is.

The structural similarity between communist and fascist states played a key role in facilitating China transition. Today, it still maintains characteristics which both harken back to its Maoist past and appear in fascist countries. Xi Jinping carries on the tradition of the strongman as the ultimate authority in China. Such all-powerful dictators are nearly ubiquitous in both communist and fascist countries. Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Franco’s Spain all had the same powerful dictators as the Soviet Union, Maoist China, and Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Every one of these counties had their own secret police, (Nazi SS, KGB, etc.)^[7] Both communist and fascist countries were hostile toward whom they considered outsiders or threats to the party, (i.e., Nazi Germany’s extensive genocides, Stalin’s Gulag system, Cuba’s mass imprisonment of social deviants).^[8] Lastly, they all prioritized the needs of the many (by this they always really meant the state) over the individual. Fascism does, in fact, attribute its own prioritization of collective interests to its socialist roots.^[9]

Given these similarities, it begins to look like Communism and fascism share more common ground than a cursory overview might suggest. Truly though, in practice, only small nuances account for their distinction. Totalitarianism lies at the core of both systems. 

Ultra-Nationalism

Perhaps the starkest difference between fascist and communist ideologies is the former’s jingoism. Fascism is, by definition, is known for its fierce nationalism, whereas communism has an international mindset that seeks to replace the current capitalist global order with a communist one, summed up in Karl Marx’s final statement in the Communist Manifesto, “Workers of all countries, unite!”.^[10] But there is little evidence that the CCP aims to bring about the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Rather, its stated goal is, “to fundamentally revise world order, placing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the center and serving Beijing’s authoritarian goals and hegemonic ambitions.”^[11]

According to Elements of the China Challenge, written by the U.S. Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff in November, 2020, the Chinese Communist Party today holds an, “extreme interpretation of Chinese nationalism.”^[12] Rather than abolishing traditional Chinese culture and replacing it with a modern communist state, as true communists would, the CCP embraces China’s imperial past, steeped in Confucian traditions and consider themselves, “heirs to a great civilization”^[13]. China, in this regard, displays an interest in achieving global supremacy to serve its own national interests, rather than restructuring it along communist lines. China’s shift toward national socialism is historically consistent with the former USSR’s enlistment of traditional Russian nationalism to spur motivation among citizens. ^[14] This fact sheds light on the untenability of internationalist positions in an autocratic nation-state, and the resulting tendency for initially internationalist communist regimes to fall back on nationalist sentiment to sustain its legitimacy and justify its aggression.

Following along the lines of China’s adopted nationalism, China rejects the Marxist concept of internationalism and embraces a Sinocentric worldview that places ethnic Chinese people first at the expense of everyone else. China’s heinous crimes against ethnic and religious minorities within its borders is a product of this modern “Middle Kingdom” mindset. There is clear evidence of severe repression and human rights abuses toward ethnic groups, such as Tibetans, Mongolians, and mostly notably Uyghur Muslims.^[15] It is true that communist and fascists alike incarcerate and purge members of unwanted groups and individuals. But the grounds by which these actions are predicated are different. Communists tend to focus their hostility on ideological dissidents; those who fail to conform to the party line, threaten the regime, or represent irredeemable products of the capitalist order. One example of this practice was the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, where executions fixated on wealthy, educated, or otherwise distinguished people, deemed bourgeoisie under Pol Pot’s regime.^[16] Fascists, on the other hand, add ethnic and racial targets to the list, best exemplified by Hitler’s Holocaust. China’s attempts to eradicate the Uyghur Muslim culture through forced sterilization, abortion, interment, and torture, is an example of ethnic cleansing. This aligns closer with the Holocaust in Nazi Germany than any communist country’ class-motivated persecutions.^[17]

Imperialism

China’s Sinocentric nationalism, rather than the communist mission of ushering in a classless society, drives its imperialistic ambitions. Today, “Traditional Chinese thinking encompasses a strategic outlook that asserts China’s right and responsibility to rule the world, ‘under heaven’ through the nation’s uniquely refined culture and institutions.”^[18] While it exercises influence in most countries around the world, its activities are mainly focused on gaining economic leverage in those areas, i.e. building infrastructure in return for specific guarantees, along with what amounts to loan-sharking, giving out unrepayable loans in order to gain leverage over another country.^[19] This is a common practice under the Belt and Road Initiative, (BRI), called the One Belt, One Road Initiative in China. China routinely uses the resulting leverage incurred by the crushing debt and environmental cost of overseas infrastructure projects to gain influence in developing countries around the world, thereby gaining both geopolitical clout and greater access to resources. One such example was Sri Lanka’s loss of control over a major port following default on a burdensome loan.^[20]

China complements its predatory economic policies with its blatant militarism. Since Xi Jinping’s selection as the CCP’s General Secretary, China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, has enhanced its technological capabilities, sheer might, and aggressive practices, with the goal of achieving military dominance by 2045. The PLA is already a persistent threat along its borders and in the Pacific. It provoked deadly skirmishes along its disputed border with India, challenges Japan’s sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, sank a Vietnamese fishing Trawler in 2020, and spent six months attempting to seize hydrocarbon resources from Malaysia in the country’s Exclusive Economic zone.[21] China’s imperial aggression has recently reached a new level, as signs have emerged indicating that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan may be imminent.[22] China’s chauvinistic imperialist policies, along with its escalating hostility toward its neighbors in the Pacific region, harken back to the hawkishness of twentieth-century dictatorships of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.

China’s State-Directed Market Economy

               Finally, China’s economy better resembles a fascist economy than a communist one. Institutions such as collective farming and total government ownership of commerce and industry is long gone.[23] It has been replaced by a free-market system that resembles a brutal form of capitalism that would appall any conscientious observer. A US congressional hearing in 2013 described the viciousness of the Chinese market system:

         “Workers in China are still not guaranteed, either by law or

in practice, fundamental worker rights in accordance with

international standards. Despite legislative developments that

purport to ensure some labor protections in China in recent

years, abuse and exploitation of Chinese workers remains widespread.

         Conditions in Chinese factories continue to be incredibly

harsh. Workers are routinely exposed to a variety of dangerous

working conditions that threaten their health and their safety.

Low wages, long hours and excessive overtime remain the norm.

Chinese workers have few, if any, options to seek redress

and voice grievances under these harsh conditions. If workers

step out of line, they may be fired without payment of back

wages. Workers have no collective bargaining power, no

collective bargaining rights whatsoever to negotiate for higher

wages and a better working environment.

         The Chinese Government continues to prevent workers from

exercising their right to freedom of association, and strictly

forbids the formation of independent unions. Attempts to

organize are met with dismissal, harassment, torture,

punishment, and incarceration.” ^[24]

It must be stressed that the China forbids trade and labor unions. This is an essential part of fascist thinking, as it dictates that companies should be regulated and moderated via the state, rather than through collective bargaining.^[25] To paraphrase the words of a former fellow student who spent a year abroad in China, “If you really want to see cut-throat capitalism in action, go to communist China.”

While the essentially collective aspect of the economy is gone, the ultimate authority of the state over economic activity remains. Fascism lacked a specific economic model, as adherents such as the Nazis considered it a secondary concern. It thus allowed for private ownership and capitalist-style market economies. Yet, as in historically fascist regimes, the Chinese government still retains ultimate control over all economic activity.^[26] This is why, in China, there are many state-owned and state-controlled firms. It also accounts for China’s practice of cracking down on executives and CEOs who step out of line. While the very thought of the US government “disappearing” the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for insolence is unthinkable here, such events can and do happen in China.^[27] Lesson: The state owns the economy. And yet state-overseen is not the same as state-run. The CCP doesn’t directly operate the economy, but it does reserve ultimate authority over it. Such is the way of fascist governments.^[28]

Key Takeaways

Given the above evidence, it is clear that China has evolved from a communist country to a fascist one. This proves three major points. First, China has shifted toward a fascist model of government. Second, we see that Communism and Fascism, rather than being extreme versions of left and right-wing governments, respectively, are in fact, close cousins rooted in authoritarianism. Lastly, there is a demonstrated potential for communist regimes initially based on Marxist ideology to gravitate toward fascism, due to the untenability of internationalist perspectives and collectivist economics. There is no doubt that the CCP revised its model of government for the purpose of achieving global domination. What can be done about this remains to be seen, but the first step in overcoming a problem is to accurately identify it. In this case, correctly classifying China as an imperialistic fascist threat is the start of developing our resistance to it.

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[1] https://thediplomat.com/authors/jin-kai/

[2] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 1.

[3] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 31

[4] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 36

[5] https://sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/2B-HUM/Readings/The-Doctrine-of-Fascism.pdf

[6] Benito Mussolini, the Doctrine of Fascism, pg. 2

[7] https://www.britannica.com/topic/secret-police, https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/Cuba996-08.htm

[8] https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/Cuba996-08.htm, https://www.history.com/topics/russia/gulag, https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/holocaust

[9] https://fee.org/articles/socialist-academics-contributed-to-the-rise-of-the-third-reich/

[10]https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Volksgemeinschaft,  Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, pg. 32.

[11] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 1.

[12] Ibid, pg. 1.

[13] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 6.

[14] Ibid, pg. 45.

[15] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pp. 8-9

[16] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-106843997

[17] https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/19/break-their-lineage-break-their-roots/chinas-crimes-against-humanity-targeting

[18] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pg. 32

[19] The Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State, Elements of the China Challenge, pp. 1, 9-13.

[20] Ibid, pg. 12

[21] Ibid, pg. 14, 16, 19

[22] https://www.newsweek.com/china-now-preparing-invade-taiwan-opinion-1704631

[23] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/9780815737254_ch1.pdf

[24] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg76387/html/CHRG-112hhrg76387.htm

[25] Benito Mussolini, The Doctrine of Fascism, pg. 2

[26] https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html

[27] https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/22/investing/china-disappearing-executives/index.html

[28] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2021/01/07/disappearing-billionaires-jack-ma-and-other-chinese-moguls-who-have-mysteriously-dropped-off-the-radar/?sh=5509eb882187