The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expected to continue its efforts to suppress Taiwanese sovereignty while it moves closer to its socialist roots by redistributing wealth, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a report from a committee yesterday.
The committee opened with comments from a China affairs analyst who said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has changed the process for promoting CCP officials, and that Xi’s appointments seem to emphasize loyalty over capability.
To mitigate the influence of factions or former party heavyweights, Xi is consolidating power around himself, with the CCP regressing to a Mao Zedong (毛澤東) style of authoritarianism, the analyst said, adding that the trend could continue past Xi’s rule.
The CCP’s 20th National Congress last month emphasized “Chinese-style modernization” to bolster state power and promote technological innovation, the committee said in the report.
The committee said that Beijing is looking to increase deterrence capabilities, counter difficulties posed by the US and force Taiwan into political talks.
The CCP congress report includes plans to bolster socialism by redistributing wealth for “mutual prosperity,” the MAC said.
Adhering to a “zero COVID” policy has adversely affected the CCP’s “dual circulation” policy and is compromising China’s increased financial and economic risks, it said.
Credit rating agencies around the world are not optimistic that Beijing can achieve its aim of 5.5 percent growth this year, it said.
Foreign investors are also less than optimistic about China, and are hoping to speed a transition in manufacturing supply chains away from China and into southeast Asia, the committee said.
The CCP considers this to be a “time of flux” that has not been seen in the past century, and would continue its attempts to lobby for support from regional countries to counter US dominance, the MAC said.
The analysts also said that Taiwan should be prepared for the CCP initiating military conflict to draw public attention away from mounting internal problems.
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