President in the footsteps of Mao
Xi’s turning point makes Beijing tremble
By Marcel Grzanna
10/23/2022, 5:37 p.m
Never before has a Chinese party congress received such attention – this also has to do with the increase in power that President Xi Jinping has cemented this weekend. It shows not only in the fact that predecessor Hu has to leave the podium. There are other alarm signals for other countries.
The balance of power in the Chinese Communist Party shifted massively in favor of President Xi Jinping at the 20th party congress. The future composition of the Standing Committee of your Politburo and the involuntary departure of ex-party leader Hu Jintao from the plenum are clear signals that Xi can direct the politics of the People’s Republic according to his ideas for years to come. These are alarming signals for other countries.
Since the death of dictator Mao Zedong, no party leader has managed to marginalize the rival factions and interest groups in the party’s ruling elite like Xi. With the 20th party congress, the 69-year-old heralded a new era in the history of the Communist Party, the scope of which is likely to change geopolitical developments in the world in the long term. He orchestrated the change in the party constitution so that he could lead the CP as General Secretary and thus also the state for another ten, maybe 15 or even 20 years.
The Chinese turning point, which is now institutionally and personally cemented, means the completion of an ideological rearmament that, after years of lethargy in the USA, in Europe and there especially in Germany, now seems to be entering political consciousness. Never before in the past 100 years has a party congress received so much attention from abroad. Domestic political developments in China are now too relevant for the rest of the world to pretend to be indifferent. As the second largest economy and an increasingly aggressive system rival, with a disastrous human rights record, the Middle Kingdom has, in accordance with its self-image, advanced into the center of events.
Xi’s personality cult will intensify
This is one of the reasons why a party congress has never before been accompanied by so many background noises. A spectacular protest against Xi Jinping’s rule in the middle of a Beijing highway bridge, a beating by the Chinese consul-general in Manchester, the outrage at the possible intention to sell parts of the port of Hamburg to China, or a US military warning of an imminent invasion of Beijing island state of Taiwan accompanied the spectacle in the Great Hall of the People and symbolized the challenges that China will prepare for the world in the coming years.
The effects of the political tremors at the party congress will further exacerbate the personality cult initiated around President Xi. Authoritarian governance will move further towards totalitarianism, characterized by ever-increasing surveillance of the populace and less and less acceptance of political dissent. Beijing will also intensify its hunt for opponents of the regime beyond its national borders.
Above all, the traditionally influential Youth League, from which incumbent Prime Minister Li Keqiang emerged, has felt the determination of the Xi regime in recent days. The parliamentary group was literally pushed to the brink of insignificance. Both Premier Li and former Guangdong party secretary Wang Yang, both previously members of the inner circle of power, are no longer even members of the Central Committee with its 205 cadres.
Don’t take the explanation for Hu’s departure at face value
However, Li Keqiang’s foster father, Hu Jintao, received the greatest humiliation. Xi’s predecessor as head of state and party, who led the country during the 2008 Olympic Games and until 2012 in Beijing, was even escorted off the podium against his will on Saturday. The outside world may never know the true background of this incident. The mechanisms within the party are also seen as a black box among those familiar with China, who have been dealing intensively with the people, language and culture of the country for years.
State media justified Hu’s departure as unwell. But you shouldn’t necessarily take it at face value. In the history of the People’s Republic, power struggles have never been offensively communicated. Instead, the party always strives for unity in its public image. However, the symbolic meaning of the moment is enough for Xi to make it clear to all remaining adversaries that he is the only one who decides where to go. Especially since one of the two men who apparently politely but unequivocally made Hu leave the podium was Xi’s personal bodyguard.
The new composition of the Politburo’s Standing Committee is also an expression of the enormous amount of power that Xi has built up as Secretary-General over the past ten years. The unwritten rule that only deputy prime ministers have the chance to become prime minister has become obsolete since the presentation of the highest KP body on Sunday morning. With the Shanghai party leader Li Qiang, a new number two marched in front of the cameras behind Xi, who has so far played no role at state level. However, Li is considered a loyal follower of Xi, who was also responsible for the rigorous lockdown in Shanghai that lasted several months in the spring.
Liberalization unlikely
Zhao Leji, head of the Disciplinary Committee that has ousted dozens of high-ranking cadres and potential opponents of Xi on corruption charges since Xi took power, has been a member of the Standing Committee since 2017, along with Xi’s chief ideologist Wang Huning. Wang helped develop the idea of the Chinese dream, which Xi promotes as the equivalent of the American dream, and promoted Xi’s prominent position. New to the body are Ding Xuexiang, head of the General Bureau of the Central Committee, Cai Qi, party leader in Beijing, and Li Xi, party leader in Guangzhou. All three are considered Loyalists.
The occupation suggests that the economic centers of China along the coasts will be increasingly ideologically penetrated in the future. The effects would be particularly noticeable for German companies. An intensification of the Sinicization of management and the further localization of productions and developments is to be expected. Liberalization, as China has been promising for years for its own industry, is unlikely.
The continuation of ideological foreign policy is apparently a done deal. Foreign Minister Wang Yi is promoted to the 25-strong Politburo, which means a significant upgrading of his person. Under Wang Yi, China’s presence around the world has earned it the reputation of wolf warrior diplomacy. Wang represents the People’s Republic with a sharp tongue and pithy words. He threatens Taiwan, the Americans or recalcitrant third countries that don’t do Beijing’s bidding.