The Chinese president will probably be reappointed Sunday as general secretary of the CPC, after the first meeting of a revamped Central Committee.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ended its congress in Beijing on Saturday, which should crown President Xi Jinping to a third term and chart China’s political future for the next five years.
On this occasion, the CCP included the name of the Chinese president in its charter. The nearly 97 million members of the party will have to “uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s central role in the Party Central Committee and the Party as a whole“, according to a resolution adopted unanimously
The CCP has also decided to include for the first time in its charter a mention of Beijing’s opposition to Taiwanese independence. The Congress “agrees to include in the party charter statements on (…) resolute opposition and deterrence of separatists seeking independence for Taiwan“says the text. In response, Taipei called on Beijing to shed its “old mentality of invasion and confrontation” in order to “resolve disputes by peaceful, fair and realistic means“.
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“Dare to fight for victory“, launched a little earlier with a triumphant air Xi Jinping at the end of the closing ceremony at the Palace of the people, a huge Soviet-style building which dominates Tiananmen Square. This congress, the 20th since the creation of the CCP in 1921, took place in a delicate context for China, faced with a slowdown in its growth due to repeated confinements and diplomatic tensions with the West.
For the past week, some 2,300 delegates chosen by the various Party authorities have been meeting behind closed doors in Beijing, with the mission of overhauling the party’s leadership team, and therefore of the world’s second largest economy, and charting the country’s future directions. . The composition of the new Central Committee, a kind ofparliamentinternal to the party, was adopted, according to the new China agency which however did not reveal the list of some 200 members.
Unusual scene in a highly choreographed ceremony, former President Hu Jintao was escorted out, AFP journalists noted. Visibly against his will, the 79-year-old, who served as China’s president from 2003 to 2013, was pressured by employees to get up from his seat next to Xi Jinping. The scene was not immediately explained or reported by state media. In its evening edition, the state television newscast also did not mention the incident.
“It is not yet clear what caused this, whether it was to counter Xi’s power or an unpleasant moment for an elderly person.commented analyst Neil Thomas. “In the absence of additional information, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the connection between this incident and Chinese politics.“.
“Whether it was deliberate, or whether (Hu Jintao) was in pain, the effect is the same. Complete humiliation for the last generation of pre-Xi leaderstweeted Alex White, a British analyst who has lived in China.
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On Sunday, Xi Jinping is likely to be reappointed as the CPC’s general secretary after the first meeting of a revamped Central Committee, which has about 200 members. A simple formality, the procedure should allow Xi Jinping to win an unprecedented third five-year presidential term next March.
“This third term will put an end to three decades of (framed) transition of powerin China, notes Neil Thomas, analyst at Eurasia Group. To stay in power, the strong man of Beijing had thus removed from the Constitution in 2018 the limit of two terms. Xi Jinping, 69, can therefore in theory preside over the People’s Republic for life.
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new prime minister
Analysts and media speculate on Xi Jinping’s desire to change his job title to “party president», the title held by the founder of the Mao Tse-tung regime (1949-76). A change could also be made to the PCC’s charter. In 2017, she included a reference to “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era“. This mention had been added the following year to the Constitution of the country.
This congress should also lead to a broad recomposition of the permanent committee of the Political Bureau. The new composition of this all-powerful body of currently seven members – which holds the reality of power in China – will be unveiled on Sunday.
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According to unwritten traditions, some of the current members reach the age at which they are supposed to retire. In accordance with custom, the members of the Standing Committee will be announced in order of importance, number one being the Secretary General.
A priori the number two or number three will be the next prime minister who will succeed Li Keqiang, next March. Among the names mentioned to replace him: Wang Yang, considered one of the most liberal voices in the Party, or the current Vice Premier Hu Chunhua. Li Qiang, party leader in Shanghai, is also expected despite his chaotic management of containment in the spring.
“Worst Case Scenarios»
The new standing committee will be made up of “majority of personalities loyal to Xi Jinpingsubodore Nis Grünberg, of the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies (Merics) in Berlin. Many sinologists believe that no potential successor should emerge.
Since coming to power at the end of 2012, Xi Jinping has accumulated power at the top of the world’s second power and presided over a strengthening of the regime’s authority. Party leader, army chief, head of state… the leader pleaded for the continuity of his policies during a triumphant speech at the opening of the congress.
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The strategy “zero covidshould thus continue despite its harmful consequences on the economy and the growing exasperation of the population with the confinements.
Far from the cautious diplomacy of his predecessors, Xi Jinping should make China’s voice heard even more. Even if it means increasing tensions with the great American rival, in particular around the question of Taiwan.
Xi Jinping is above allvery concerned about the security of the regime“, underline the analysts of the firm SinoInsider, specialized in Chinese politics. And to note that this term was mentioned 91 times in his speech last Sunday, more than any other theme.
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