Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the country’s most powerful leader in decades, yesterday increased his dominance when he was named to another term as head of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a break with tradition and promoted allies who support his vision of tighter control over society and the struggling economy.
Xi, who took power in 2012, was awarded a third five-year term as general secretary, discarding a custom under which his predecessor left after 10 years.
That has sparked warnings that Xi’s increasingly unchecked power might trigger a succession crisis when his rule finally comes to an end.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Xi’s “reappointment today is the result of his concentration of extreme individual power,” said a senior Chinese political academic who requested anonymity to avoid potential repercussions from the authorities.
The move was “catastrophically negative for the Chinese state,” harming the party’s resilience and heralding “decline and stagnation,” the academic said, adding that it was “inevitable” that Xi, 69, would now seek to rule for life.
The party also named a seven-member Central Politburo Standing Committee, its inner circle of power, dominated by Xi allies after Premier Li Keqiang (李克強), the No. 2 leader and an advocate of market-style reform and private enterprise, was dropped from the leadership on Saturday. That was despite Li being a year younger than the party’s informal retirement age of 68.
“Power will be even more concentrated in the hands of Xi Jinping,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a Chinese politics expert at Hong Kong Baptist University.
The new appointees are “all loyal to Xi,” he said. “There is no counterweight or checks and balances in the system at all.”
Xi and other standing committee members — none of them women — appeared for the first time as a group before reporters in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.
The No. 2 leader was Li Qiang (李強), the Shanghai party secretary. That puts Li Qiang in line to become premier, the top economic official. CCP Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhao Leji (趙樂際), already a member, was promoted to No. 3, likely to head the legislature.
The lineup appeared to reflect what some commentators called “Maximum Xi,” valuing loyalty over ability. Some new leaders lack national-level experience as vice premier or Cabinet minister that is typically seen as a requirement for the post.
It is the economy that is likely to command Xi’s immediate focus as he embarks on his history-making third term.
His signature “zero COVID-19” strategy, with its snap lockdowns, mass testing and restrictions on movement, has pummeled consumer sentiment and chipped away at growth.
China this week delayed the release of its third-quarter economic growth figures, amid expectations that the country was on course for its weakest performance since the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
The country eked out just 0.4 percent growth in the second quarter, and analysts widely expect it to miss its annual growth target of 5.5 percent by a wide margin.
Additional reporting by AFP
Indonesia has sent hundreds of riot police to a tiny island after protests broke out against a China-backed project that would displace thousands of residents. About 1,000 people protested in Batam City on Monday over a plan to develop Rempang island into a Chinese-funded economic zone, including the construction of a multibillion-dollar glass factory, that would displace about 7,500 people. Some protesters clashed with security forces outside a government agency, wielding machetes, Molotov cocktails and stones, police said, adding that dozens were arrested. Beijing has poured money into infrastructure and resource projects in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and its investments have previously caused
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to
‘CRITICAL TRADE PARTNER’: The proposal had momentum due to a bipartisan consensus on boosting the economic partnership with Taiwan, a US senator said The US Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday passed the US-Taiwan Expedited Double Tax Relief Act, with US officials saying that it would ease pressure on investors and boost the partnership between Taipei and Washington, although Taiwan needs to enact reciprocal legislation for it to take effect. The bill — which was developed by US senators Ron Wyden, the committee’s chairman, and ranking member Mike Crapo, along with US representatives Jason Smith, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, and ranking member Richard Neal — was passed in a 27-0 vote. The proposal had momentum because of
RSS