English Reading Comprehension with Detailed Explanation- IBPS, SSC Exams (Day-1):
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Direction (Q 1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions.
The recently-concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China showcased President Xi Jinping’s primacy, his vision and his status as the helmsman of the party and the nation. China’s confidence in the validity of its chosen path and its ambitions of “restoring” its global leadership role were also on full display. While this conclave was more about reaffirmation of trends evolving since Mr. Xi’s ascendance to power at the 18th Party Congress, rather than charting out new policy directions, it has significant implications for India. The Congress has confirmed Mr. Xi’s standing as the most powerful Chinese leader in the post-Deng era. Mr. Xi has become the only leader after Mao (with his “Mao Zedong Thought”) to have his ideological contribution written into the party charter. “Deng Xiaoping Theory” was adopted after Deng’s death, and contributions of two of Mr. Xi’s predecessors, Hu Jintao (“Scientific Outlook”) and Jiang Zemin (“Three Represents”), are not named after them. While this self-elevation and his position as the “lingxiu”, a wise and great leader, makes Mr. Xi the principal arbiter of China’s future directions over the next five years and possibly beyond, it is does not yet put him on a par with Mao and Deng. Mr. Xi is a transformative leader in the making but has a long way to go before he can rival Mao and Deng in impact and legacy. Mr. Xi has, however, taken decisive steps to move away from Deng’s legacy. Deng had institutionalised collective leadership to correct the problems of “excessive concentration of power” witnessed under Mao. With Mr. Xi steadily accumulating levers of authority and eliminating rivals, there has been a shift towards personalised rule in his first term and now at the Party Congress. The erosion of checks that it involves has attendant risks for China.
The new Politburo is packed with Mr. Xi’s close associates. There are as many as 14 of his allies among 25 members of the Politburo. However, the composition of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) is more balanced and possibly the result of a compromise, thus suggesting limits to Mr. Xi’s authority. Premier Li Keqiang has retained his position, along with Mr. Xi, and of five new members, only one (Li Zhanshu) is seen as a Xi protégé, while others have links to his predecessors but cannot be described as rivals. In another departure from the post-Deng practice, no potential successor to Mr. Xi has been included in the new line-up of the PBSC. This has kept open the possibility of him staying on as the paramount leader or the power behind the throne well beyond 2022, when he completes his second term as the party leader. Though the party constitution rules out “life tenure”, it sets no term limits for any office, unlike the state constitution which has a two-term limit for presidency and other senior positions. It is still too early to figure out how the post-2022 scenario will pan out, but it seems unlikely today that Mr. Xi will completely exit from the leadership position as his predecessor Hu Jintao did at the end of his second term. The absence of a succession plan has potential perils in a party which has witnessed destructive factional feuds in the past.
Mr. Xi’s penchant for the dominance of the party, including in the economic domain, has received a boost at the Congress. His preference for maintaining a strong state and party role in the economy with minimal privatisation of state-owned assets and firm control over social and financial risks is unlikely to change in the wake of the Congress. Likewise, while he is positioning China as a defender of globalisation, it comes with a strong dose of mercantilism .For India, one key outcome of the party conclave is the articulation of China’s increasingly explicit great power ambitions. In his speech, Mr. Xi talked about China becoming “a global leader of composite national strength and international influence” and moving closer to the centre-stage by mid-century. A Xinhua commentary of October 24 is more candid: “By 2050… China is set to regain its might and re-ascend to the top of the world.” In sync with Mr. Xi’s “Chinese dream” enunciated five years ago, an overarching theme of the Party Congress was the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and “restoration” of China’s centrality on the global stage. In his speech, Mr. Xi spoke of China as a “strong country” or “great power” as many as 30 times, jettisoning the earlier coyness about the country’s great power ambitions. The preoccupation with building up global combat capabilities to safeguard China’s overseas interests also figures prominently in Mr. Xi’s vision. Arguably the most ambitious restructuring of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the last 50 years currently underway is focussed on joint command, power projection capability and the party’s control on the military. Mr. Xi has set the goal of completing modernisation of the armed forces by 2035 and transforming the PLA into a world-class military by 2050.
However, China is likely to intensify its efforts to shape its periphery and forge a “world community of shared destiny” centered around it. With the U.S. in temporary retreat and the West distracted by internal challenges, China considers this to be a period of strategic opportunity to take its great power project to the next level in the new era that Mr. Xi has envisioned. Mr. Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the key instrument in this grand strategy and it is now embedded in the party constitution. There is nothing to suggest that China is inclined to address India’s concerns about the BRI.It may also be noted that since his 2014 visit to India, President Xi has emerged as the principal Chinese interlocutor for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Given Mr. Xi’s pre-eminence, his being personally invested in the relationship with India has its advantages.Looking ahead, a more assertive China will be one of the most critical factors shaping India’s external environment, apart from engendering new challenges in the management of bilateral relations, more so as the footprints of the two re-emergent countries will increasingly overlap.
1). Which of the following sentence(s) is/are true according to the passage?
- The ideological contributions of the leaders of China like ‘Mao Zedong Thought’ by leader Mao, ‘Deng Xiaoping Theory’ by leader Deng, ‘Scientific Outlook’ by Hu Jintao and ‘Three Represents’ by Jiang Zemin, have been written into the party charter.
- Deng was a ‘lingxiu’ as he worked to transform China through his work on ‘decentralisation of power.’
III. Mr. Xi is a transformative leader just as China’s earlier rulers.
- Only I
- Only II
- Only I and III
- Only I and II
- Only II and III
2). Which of the following statements can strengthen the the possibility of President Xi’s staying on as the paramount leader or the power behind the throne well beyond 2022?
- The new Portbolio is packed with 25 members all of which are his close associates.
- Among all the new members, there is only one rival – Li Zhanshu.
- The party has not declared any political successor of President Xi in the new line-up of the PBSC.
- Only I and II
- Only II and III
- Only III
- Only I and III
- None of these
3). What could be the possible reason of Hu Jintao’s end of leadership at the end of his second term?
- All the members of Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) were his rivals.
- He was not an wise and great leader and hence his position in the PBSC was questioned.
- The party constitution rules out “life tenure”, hence Hu Jintao couldn’t get a second term.
- Hi Jintao kept a potential successor to be included in the new line-up of the PBSC.
- None of these
4). What is Mr. Xi’s ‘Chinese Dream’?
- China to regain it’s position as a global leader of composite national strength and international influence through rejuvenation and restoration of Chinese nation.
- Maintain a strong state and party role in the economy with minimal privatisation of state-owned assets and firm control over social and financial risks.
- Promote globalisation by boosting economic reforms through privatisation.
- Modernisation of the armed forces by 2035 and transforming the PLA into a world-class military by 2050.
- None of these
5). China’s road map to achieving its great power ambitions has significant implications for India. This sentence can be justified by which of the following(s)?
- China has a preference for maintaining a strong state and party role in the economy with minimal privatisation of state-owned assets and firm control over social and financial risks.
- China is set to become a global leader by 2050 by building a “world community of shared destiny” centered around it.
III. Mr. Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the key instrument in his grand strategy of “restoration” of China’s centrality on the global stage.
- Only I
- Only II
- C.Only III
- Only I and II
- Only II and III
6). What can be the appropriate title for the passage?
- “Lingxiu”- China’s Great Leaders
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
- The rise of Xi Jinping
- None of these
7). What can be the synonym of the word ‘protégé’ as used in the context of the passage?
- Enemy
- Pupil
- Friend
- Teacher
- None of these
8). What can be the synonym of the word ‘coyness’ as used in the context of the passage?
- Obsolete
- Outspoken
- Reluctance
- Timid
- None of these
9). What can be the antonym of the word ‘paramount’ as used in the context of the passage?
- Cardinal
- Dominant
- Prime
- Optimum
- None of these
10). What can be the antonym of the word ‘ jettisoning’ as used in the context of the passage?
- Retain
- Trash
- Eliminate
- Slough
- None of these
