China’s Xi Jinping demands third term as Communist Party leader

The formation of the new Politburo Standing Committee, the inner sanctuary of power in China, was entirely controlled by Mr. Xi’s allies and patrons, although none with a combination of age and experience would distinguish them as a viable successor.

Mr. Xi, 69, secured a third five-year term as party general secretary. While the party does not set presidential term limits for its top political position, Mr. Xi is breaking the 10-year leadership cycle set by his predecessor, who served two terms as party chief.

By extending his rule without any apparent heir, Mr. Xi effectively eliminated the party’s decades-long efforts to ensure the orderly succession of leadership and Preventing a return to Mao-style dictatorship. Since taking power in 2012, Mr. Xi has reversed the party’s embrace of collective leadership, concentrated decision-making power in his own hands, and removed constitutional restrictions on the presidency.

This power has also removed officials who were previously seen as standard-bearers of relatively pluralistic, market-oriented policies, leaving China firmly in the hands of Mr. Xi and his supporters, who advocate a more equal society, a state-led economy and muscle power. Foreign policy – under the supervision of a strong central party.

In his first remarks after assuming his third term, Mr. Xi reiterated his agenda with a broad stroke — including his party’s demands to continue “self-revolution,” reorient the economy toward “high-quality development” and ensure that China asserts positive leadership in global affairs.

“The journey ahead is long and arduous, but with resolute steps, we will reach our destination,” Mr. Xi said at a press briefing, joined by his aides in the senior leadership. “We must remain on high alert, remain vigilant and prudent.”

“I think Xi clarified the general trend,” said Joseph Viussmith, a Boston University professor who specializes in Chinese politics. “Security above economic growth. This is a remarkable change and suggests how nervous Xi is about the future [Chinese Communist Party]. “

Shanghai’s Party Secretary Li Qiang, who became the target of public outrage over the city’s grueling Covid lockdown earlier this year, came out for the cameras as No. 2 in the new leadership. People close to the leadership said He could become the prime minister of China The Wall Street Journal reported next spring. The current prime minister, Li Keqiang, is due to step down next spring under constitutional rules that limit him to two five-year terms.

The result cemented Mr. Xi’s standing as a major leader, despite the growing public discontent with him Covid zero tolerance policies and management China’s stagnant economy. The lack of a clear successor also suggests that Mr. Xi may seek to extend his rule beyond his third term, which ends in 2027.

Mr. Xi is set to become the party’s third longest-serving political office. Only Mao Zedong, who had been the Party Chairman for more than three decades, and Jiang Zemin, who served as General Secretary for 13 years over two and a half terms, remained Chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission for nearly two years. Deng Xiaoping, the supreme leader of China from the late 1970s until his death in 1997, did not hold the position of honorary chairman of the party.

Mr. Xi is also preparing to take up a third term as head of state of China next spring. He made this possible in 2018, when he rescinded constitutional restrictions that had prevented the president from serving more than two consecutive five-year terms. The presidency is a largely ceremonial position, with Mr. Xi’s authority stemming primarily from his roles as general secretary and chairman of the Military Commission.

Six men followed Mr. Xi as they appeared in front of the news cameras in order of their party ranks, according to clips broadcast on state television. Most of the members of this Communist power summit are either officials promoted by Mr. Xi or have close ties to him. Mr. Shi has accumulated his power over the past decade through Anti-corruption campaign That cleansed the opponents and rewarded the loyalists.

Zhao Leji, who has led the party’s top disciplinary committee for the past five years, emerged third in the new leadership – a rank that suggests he could become the top official in China’s national legislature, the National People’s Congress. Both Mr. Zhao and Mr. Xi had family roots in Northern Shaanxi Province, which was the power base of Mr. Xi’s late father, revolutionary elder Xi Zhongxun.

The leader ranked fourth was Wang Huning, who appears likely to head China’s highest political advisory body, in an earlier precedent. Mr. Wang, the party’s top ideologue, has been one of Mr. Xi’s closest advisers over the past decade, shaped his political campaigns and often accompanying the Chinese leader on his overseas trips.

Beijing’s party chief, Cai Zhi, who spent decades working with Mr. Xi in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, has emerged as the fifth member of the new leadership. Mr. Kai is set to become the main figure who will oversee the party’s propaganda and oversight apparatus and its efforts to counter Western influence.

The sixth member to appear was 60-year-old Ding Shuixiang, the youngest member of the new leadership. A recent precedent indicates that he will become China’s first vice premier next spring.

Li Shi, the party chief of Guangdong Province recently, emerged as the seventh member of the Standing Committee. He was also appointed head of the party’s largest anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, a task the newspaper likely reported earlier this week.

The size of the new Politburo has been reduced to 24 members from 25 – the first time this body has had an even number of full members in 15 years. The last politburo with 24 full members held office from 2002 to 2007. In recent decades, the party has generally avoided assigning even-numbered memberships to its top organs to reduce the chances of a deadlock in voting.

The new line-up also marks the first time in 25 years that a woman’s Politburo has not appeared, either as a full member or a replacement.

Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, once considered a potential future leader, withdrew from the party’s top posts altogether, losing his seat in the Politburo on Sunday. The youngest member of the outgoing Politburo, 59, had enjoyed a rapid rise and was seen as an advocate of relatively liberal economic policies. But he is not considered part of Mr. Xi’s circle, having grown up with the help of other political patrons.

write to Keith Chai at [email protected] and Chun Han Wong at [email protected]