Loyalty, Suffering, and Power: Joseph Torigian on Xi Jinping’s Moral Code

Why does Xi Jinping, one of the world’s most powerful leaders, believe the Communist Party deserves unwavering loyalty—even after it persecuted his own family?

Author and political historian Joseph Torigian joins Faithful Politics to unpack his groundbreaking biography, The Party's Interest Come First, a deeply researched portrait of Xi Zhongxun, father of China’s current president. With insights drawn from rare archival material, spy memoirs, and even interviews with the Dalai Lama, Torigian helps us understand how personal suffering shaped the elder Xi’s devotion to party discipline—and how that legacy forged Xi Jinping’s authoritarian vision for modern China. We explore the moral logic of elite politics in Beijing, the party’s uneasy relationship with religious minorities like Christians and Catholics, and why understanding history is essential to forecasting China’s future.
As China’s global influence grows and tension with the West intensifies, this conversation couldn’t be more timely—or more vital.

👤 Guest Bio
Joseph Torigian is an associate professor at American University and a leading expert on authoritarian regimes, elite politics, and the Chinese Communist Party. His latest book, The Party’s Interest Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, draws on rare archival sources and interviews to offer new insights into the foundations of China’s modern political power.