The post-1992 leadership of China is the reign of two Presidents, Jian Zemin and later, Hu Jintao (Nathan and Scobell 38). This phase of leadership has succeeded in maintaining social, economic and political stability in the People’s Republic of China, than the previous leadership. Shirk (38) observes that it has been an era of reforms and domestic stabilization, especially after learning from the Tiananmen unrest of 1989. Even though there have been some negative consequences of the new rules and strategies that the leadership has adopted, it is notable that the post-1992 Chinese leadership has achieved political, social and economic progress. This has been realized through three major steps. These are consolidating unity among the leaders, strengthening relations between the party leadership and the military and instituting measures to prevent social unrest.

The post-1992 China’s leadership has been very sensitive on party leadership splits (Shirk 39). The leaders adopted lessons from the Tiananmen social unrest that almost torn China apart in 1989. From then, the Chinese leaders vowed to do all they could to prevent foreign or domestic forces that tried to invoke social unrest (Shirk 38). This has been evident in the leadership of Jiang Zemin, as well as, the leadership of Hu Jintao. For example, Jian succeeded in winning people’s support and maintainingeconomic development through populism. Similarly, President Hu Jintao has succeeded in uniting all the leaders and stabilizing the political and economic sectors of the republic. Nathan and Scobell (39) note that the constitution of China does not provide for the position of the supreme leader. This has enabled a balance of power, and a de facto system of separation of powers that has promoted autonomy to the provinces, and eventually stability. In addition, Shirk (39), as well as Guo (132) agree that the ruling party, Chinese Communist Party prioritizes political stability ahead of everything else. According to Shirk (39), matters of national importance are handled with ultimate secrecy. Guo (135) posits that control measures have been instituted to ensure that the media does not leak information that would threaten political stability. Another measure that ensures political stability is the balance of power in the politburo, the decision making committee. Shirk (39) notes that the president is not an absolute leader, and the politburo can refuse a decision by the president.

Foreign policy is the other area that the Chinese leadership has handled with care, in order to maintain political and economic stability. Shirk (44) posits that foreign policy is centralized and is formulated by professionals at the foreign ministry. Nathan and Scobell (40) agree that China’s foreign policy has become more professional and more institutionalized. This is a positive step towards maintaining relations with foreign powers. In relation to the USA, Taiwan and Japan, the policy is handled by a standing committee that also has politicians as members. When making foreign policy, the leaders also consider public opinion, the other leaders and the military (Shirk 77). Nathan and Scobell (45) argue that the Chinese leadership is very sensitive while making foreign policy, in order to prevent any disruption that would disrupt economic growth. Having made these considerations, the post-1992 Chinese leadership has succeeded in marinating relations with foreign nations, as well as, maintaining internal political stability.

The Chinese post-1992 leadership has also made a lot of progress in controlling social unrest. President Jiang, for example, succeeded in putting the military under control, and broadened the base of social support for the ruling party. According to Shirk (46), the leadership has also consolidated power in the politburo in an attempt to avoid conflicts. This inspiration is drawn from Tiananmen social unrest that resulted from conflicts among the leaders. In line with this, president Hu’s leadership has continuously controlled the media and the internet (Shirk 47). Thiscoupled with the work of the Propaganda department ensure that, information that would evoke public dissatisfaction is not released to the public by any form of media. According to Shirk (56), Chinese scholars have also undertaken to study social unrest, and inform the government concerning preventive measures. The leadership has also succeeded in containing ethnic unrest in western china. Measures have also been instituted to prevent students’ unrest, rural unrest, and nationalism and social unrest. The ruling party does this by identifying with the protestors and addressing their dissatisfaction (Shirk 66). Nathan and Scobell argue that the Chinese government has invested heavily in intelligence in order to monitor instability (49). This is echoed by Guo (136), in that; the leaders work closely with the army in order to control unrest.

In conclusion, the post-1992 leadership has succeeded to stabilize China, both politically and economically. This has been possible through a high level, professional foreign policy formulation, controlling of social, internal unrest, and promoting political stability. The leaderships of presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao have consolidated power on the politburo and won the people’s support. This has enabled them maintain political stability, and eventually economic growth.

Works Cited

Guo, Sujian. Chinese politics and government: Power, ideology and organization. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Andrew, Nathan, and Scobell Andrew. China’s search for security. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2012. Print.

Shirk, Susan L. China: Fragile superpower. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.