CHINA is forcing tens of millions of citizens to download an app heralding the work of President Xi Jinping, according to reports.

They are being made to use the 'Study the Great Nation' app which lets users to earn points by following the latest news about Mr Xi and the Communist Party.

However, many critics warn its increasing popularity is engineered by party officials who punish those who dare to ignore it by cutting their pay.

Study the Great Nation was developed by technology giant Alibaba and launched at the beginning of this year.

It's already the most downloaded app for Apple devices in the country, overtaking WeChat, with state media claiming it now has more than 100m registered users.

The app has been compared to Chairman Mao’s controversial “Little Red Book” distributed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

“He is using new media to fortify loyalty towards him,” Wu Qiang, a Chinese political analyst told The New York Times.

Employers now reportedly require workers to submit daily screenshots to document their progress on the app or deduct pay if the app is not used frequently.

“It’s a perfect example of propaganda in the Xi era ... that appeals to China’s large online population,” Manya Koetse told AFP in February.

Ms Koetse studies social trends in China as the editor of What’s on Weibo, based on the popular social media website Sina Weibo.

The app is thought to be the latest attempt to solidify Mr Xi’s control over China.

He is considered one of the most powerful Chinese leaders since Mao and could rule the country indefinitely – the Communist Party removed presidential term limits in March 2018.

Efforts to crack down on criticism in recent years have included banning search terms related to political dissent and even banning Winnie the Pooh - cos the cartoon bear looks like Wi.

“You cannot divert attention away from it,” Haiqing Yu, an Australian professor who studies Chinese media, told the Times.

“It’s a kind of digital surveillance. It brings the digital dictatorship to a new level.”