China | Chaguan

Xi Jinping builds a 21st-century police state

A draft law gives rank-and-file officers new, arbitrary powers

A woman wearing a Japanese kimono behind a police checkpoint
Image: Chloe Cushman

UNDER XI JINPING, the Communist Party is building the most ambitious police state in China’s history, with the legal powers and surveillance tools to bring order and ideological conformity to every corner of daily life.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Xi Jinping builds a police state”

From the September 16th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from China

Chinese Communist Party members pose for photos with a sculpture of the party flag outside the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing

China needs its frightened officials to save the economy

After years of being hounded by anti-graft authorities, many are too afraid to act

A worker is working on a drug production line  of a pharmaceutical company in Meishan, Chin

The bad side-effects of China’s campaign to cut drug costs

Poor quality is one. An angry public is another


Illustration of a translation app translating between Chinese and US english, the text says "this is a" with the options "negotiation", "argument" and "battle" in both English and Chinese

America and China are talking. But much gets lost in translation

How linguistic differences complicate relations between the great powers


It’s a good time to be an astrologer in China

In the face of hardship, the country’s youth are embracing superstition

The early days of the Trump administration, as viewed from China

A good start, but it could get worse quickly

How (un)popular is China’s Communist Party?

As the economy falters and the social compact frays, Xi Jinping wants to know