The evolution of the PRC's political regime under the chairmanship of Xi Jinping

The purpose of the study is to examine the main elements of the modern Chinese political system as well as identify the indicators of a neo-authoritarian (hybrid) regime in the People’s Republic of China. The PRC’s political regime started to evolve in 2012 when Xi Jinping was elected as a Chairman of the Central Military Commission. It is typical for China to declare political pluralism in case of real domination of one party, i.e. the Communist Party of China. The PRC is characterized by the state-controlled political involvement of citizens through the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The trend in the rise of authoritarianism had intensified since the 19th CPC National Congress (October 18-24, 2017) when Xi Jinping concentrated state, party, and military power in his hands. The anti-corruption campaign against flies and tigers became one of the methods of fight against opposition. The Chinese political system tends to blend traditional and charismatic types of legitimacy in the presence of rational and legal type. In this regard, traditionalism in ideology prevails over Marxism and economic pragmatism during the chairmanship of Xi Jinping. The paternalistic leadership is appropriate for the ideological concept of traditionalism followed by the current political elite of China. As a result, there is a shift from the collegial management principles to the paternalistic and personalistic authoritarian model.