"Rudd's book helps to better understand a man who is likely to shape China and world politics for a long time to come. Xi takes ideology very seriously. We should do the same." – Angela Köckritz, Books for the Winter 2024, Table Media
""[An] incisive new book... adds a wealth of context to what animates Xi's grim determination." – James Kynge, Financial Times
"Essential reading... For British readers, Rudd's book may take work: it's serious scholarship. But it's worth it to make clear that Xi's ideological framework is essential to any assessment of the threat from China...Rudd's warning has never been more timely: "We ignore Xi's clarity of ideological purpose at our peril."" – Tom Tugendhat, Daily Telegraph
"magnificent...the book is a clarion call for free and open countries to wake up." – Charles Parton, Spectator
"[A] monumental new take on Xi... [Rudd] understands the system [in China] in ways few of his peers can claim to... [He] is particularly good at showing how the strangely heterodox mixture of ideas from Marx, Mao and, in recent years, Confucius seen in China's domestic politics relate to the outside world." – Kerry Brown, Times Literary Supplement
"A book of singular importance...It's distinctive, and therefore intensely valuable, and a classically Rudd enterprise because it involved reading, analysing and putting into Chinese and communist context every significant thing Xi has ever said or written." – Greg Sheridan, The Australian
"Kevin Rudd shows how taking Xi's ideology seriously helps us to better understand Chinese politics and to make policies that reduce the likelihood of conflict." – Neil Thomas, Australian Book Review
"[Xi Jinping's] worldview is superbly analysed in Kevin Rudd's new book...which should be read by specialists, the public and incoming Trump officials alike." – Michael Pezzullo, The Strategist
"an essential read" – Gunjan Singh, Business Standard
"A highly impressive tome - scholarly, authoritative, and surprisingly lucid for such a dense endeavour." – Sang-Hwa Lee, The Article
"Xi Jinping is one of the most important, but most unknowable leaders of the modern world. Kevin Rudd uses meticulous readings of Chinese sources and deep knowledge of Beijing politics to interpret Xi's thinking in a fascinating and revealing way that is both deeply scholarly and informed by Rudd's own understanding of leadership." – Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
"Public servant, prime minister, diplomat, scholar–Kevin Rudd's resume is also a stellar CV for the elite caste of scholar-bureaucrats that managed the Chinese empire for over a millennium.
On Xi Jinping focusses the experience of a political practitioner engaged with China since his teenage years to analyse Xi Jinpingâs Party Empire and its global ambitions. Rudd also attempts the seemingly impossible by offering words of guidance and hope in this darkling age." – Geremie R. BarmÃ(c), editor of the
China Heritage"Understanding Xi Jinping's worldview and what it means for China and us, is more crucial now than ever. Rudd's superb analysis provides the reader with a comprehensive guide to Xi's thinking on domestic policy and global affairs. Rudd takes Xi's words seriously and teases out the consequences: a politics and economics that has moved to the left and a foreign policy that has turned to a form of rightist nationalism. Rudd encapsulates these processes with the phrase 'Marist-Leninist Nationalism.' This work is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding where China has come from, where it is heading and the consequences for all of us." – Anthony J. Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
"How has Xi Jinping's 'Marxist-Nationalism' shaped China and its relations with the world? No one is better placed than Kevin Rudd to answer these questions, and he does so convincingly in these illuminating pages. This is an essential book for everyone interested in the future of China." – Joseph S. Nye, Author of
A Life in the American Century"In this book, Kevin Rudd provides all who care about peace a huge service. Drawing on his extraordinary knowledge of China and the Chinese system, Rudd reveals a side of Xi Jinping only comprehensible through his extensive ideological writings–giving us all unique insights into a man upon whom much of the future depends and helping scholars and policymakers alike better understand Xiâs motives and anticipate his actions. A remarkable read!" – Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Jeane Kirpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government
"Understanding Xi Jinping, his plans for China, and how they will affect the world, is the central challenge for the United States and policymakers everywhere. As a foreign policy practitioner, a scholar, a Chinese language speaker, and a former world leader himself, Kevin Rudd is uniquely well placed to answer the question of what Xi Jinping actually believes. He does so brilliantly by drawing on Chinese primary sources, in-depth research, and a lifetime of experience dealing with China's leadership." – Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush
"A very insightful analysis on Chinese politics, economics, and foreign policy under Xi Jinping's leadership, focusing on the critical role of ideology... a very well written and organised book." – John West, Australian Outlook
"Best books of 2024: Politics "both entertaining and scholarly" – Gideon Rachman,
Financial Times"The blend of Marxism and nationalism under Xi's leadership is not just reshaping China-it's a strategy that's impacting geopolitics worldwide." –
S&G Consulting Firm"
On Xi Jinping is a remarkable feat of research, which delivers a clear, compelling argument as to what Xi really believes, and how he plans to remake China and the world." – Katie Stallard,
New Statesman"The book is an unusual production: a self consciously academic book written by a high-profile practitioner." – Ian Hall,
International Affairs"Elegantly written" – Elizabeth Economy,
Foreign Affairs
