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China: President Xi Jinping’s works now available in Hindi
The first volume of President Xi Jinping’s “Governance in China”, which the state media claims has sold millions of copies globally, is now available in Hindi for the first time.
The first volume of President Xi Jinping’s “Governance in China”, which the state media claims has sold millions of copies globally, is now available in Hindi for the first time.
It is rare to find the written works of Chinese leaders in Hindi except Mao Zedong’s, some of whose works including the “Little Red Book” had been translated into the language and widely read by far-left supporters in India.
An event organised by the Communist Party of China (CPC), marking the publishing of Xi’s works in the languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states and dialogue partners, was held at the multilateral group’s secretariat in Beijing on Wednesday.
Among the books that were unveiled were the first volume of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” in Hindi, Pashto, Dari, Sinhalese and Uzbek.
The book is described by the Chinese government as a “collection of his major work and wisdom on experiences, policies and perspective of the entire Communist Party’s leadership, as well as vision for the future of the world’s most populous country, over the first two years in office.”
The book has two more volumes. India is among the member countries of the SCO, having joined the group in 2017.
The high-profile event was jointly supported by the CPC central committee’s publicity department and the state-run China International Publishing Group.
Xi’s book comes in three separate volumes and has been translated into dozens of foreign languages and made available across the world.
It’s part of the ruling party’s sustained efforts to build Xi’s personality globally even as he has fully cemented his power within China, becoming one of its most powerful leaders ever.
The CPC wrapped up a key meeting last week, adopting a rare resolution on the party’s history, strengthening Xi’s stature, legacy and future as he looks to secure a precedent-breaking third-term as the country’s leader in late 2022.
The use of the SCO Secretariat platform to release the book in multiple languages also gives the CPC’s driven propaganda machinery a chance to gradually access people in 21 countries including its members, three observer countries and nine - including three new - dialogue partners. Iran is transitioning from an observer to full member status.
“The works by Xi, general secretary of the CPC central committee, open a window for the SCO countries to understand the CPC and China in the new era,” Xu Lin, deputy head of the CPC central committee’s publicity department and director of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) said at the function, according to a report in the news agency, Xinhua.
SCO secretary-general Vladimir Norov and diplomats from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka, among others, attended the event, the Xinhua report said.
According to SCIO, which is the information office of the State Council, China’s cabinet, said in a report that the first volume had sold over 500,000 copies overseas since the foreign language versions were launched in September 2014.
“Overall, the book has circulated 6.42mn copies in 24 versions and 21 languages across 160 countries and regions in the world. It is the most popular book by a Chinese leader since the reform and opening up in 1978,” the SCIO said in a report in 2017, probably careful in not comparing it to Mao’s works.
