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Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken steps similar to Mao Zedong to solidify his power. (Nikkei Montage/Getty Images/ Reuters)
China up close

With whiffs of Cultural Revolution, Xi calls for struggle 50 times

Fierce battle with factions supporting Deng Xiaoping-style reforms rocks China

KATSUJI NAKAZAWA, Nikkei senior staff writer | China

TOKYO -- No word conjures up memories of China's Cultural Revolution like "struggle."

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that Mao Zedong launched in 1966 called on the masses to "struggle" against and "crush" the people in authority taking the country down the capitalist road. Unleashing the country's youth against established figures and historic relics, Mao succeeded in regaining power, but ended up paralyzing China until the movement ended in 1976.

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