[Originally a Bluesky thread.]

There’s a high bar for concluding that a specific work has influenced Xi because there’s so little credible information about his thought process. For example, this op-ed takes official media statements about Xi at face value, when they should instead be thought of as propaganda. (The op-ed was, “This Unreadable Russian Novel Drives Xi’s Struggle Against America.”)

As the piece notes, “What Is To Be Done” is part of the communist canon, and in a canned speech like this, it’s best to read it as Xi alluding to themes like perseverance through hardship rather than revealing a deep insight about his inner beliefs.

I do think that Xi believes in the importance of struggle and enduring hardship, but his own life story provides a much clearer basis for why this would be an important value for him than a novel he may or may not have read.

It’s worth reading one of the People’s Daily articles cited in the op-ed to see the slightly ridiculous claims that are made in official media about Xi’s reading habits, and how closely tailored they are to his audience. It’s a good demonstration of why we shouldn’t take these claims at face value, in my view.