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Xi tightens grip on power as China unveils new leaders

China's President Xi Jinping (R) sits beside Premier Li Keqiang (L) as former president Hu Jintao is assisted to leave from the closing ceremony of the 20th Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22, 2022. (Photo by Noel CELIS / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Noel CELIS has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [clarifying caption to state China's former president Hu Jintao is assisted to leave from the closing ceremony] instead of [being assisted to his seat]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Video: ‘High drama’ as Xi’s predecessor led out of the meeting

01:01 – Source: CNN

  • Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to take on a norm-breaking third term as Communist Party chief today, paving the way for lifelong rule.
  • The 25-member Politburo and its smaller Standing Committee, China’s most powerful decision-making body, will also be unveiled today — with observers waiting to see whether it will be stacked with Xi loyalists, limiting potential resistance.
  • This comes after the end of the week-long Party Congress meeting yesterday, where Xi further consolidated his power by retiring key party leaders from the top ruling body to make room for his own allies.
  • The end of the Party Congress came to be defined by a dramatic and unexpected moment, when former top leader Hu Jintao was led out of the room.

China’s top leader Xi Jinping is set to begin a norm-breaking third term with an even greater concentration of power, after retiring key party leaders from the top ruling body to make room for his own allies.

The week-long Communist Party Congress concluded Saturday with the ushering in of a new Central Committee — the party’s 200-member central leadership — which will in turn select a new slate of top leaders on Sunday.

Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang — neither of whom is seen to have close ties with Xi — are not included in the new Central Committee, meaning they have left China’s top ruling body and will go into full retirement.

Clear path for Xi: Xi is widely expected to be appointed the party’s general secretary for another five years on Sunday, paving the way for potential lifelong rule. At 69, he has exceeded the informal retirement age of 68 for senior party leaders. Xi’s name is included in the list of new Central Committee members.

Li and Wang are both 67 and eligible to serve another five years on the party’s supreme Politburo Standing Committee under retirement norms. Instead, they are retiring early from the party’s apex of power, in a break with precedents in recent decades.

Li, China’s second-highest ranking leader, is required to step down in March as premier by the country’s constitution, which only allows the premier to serve two terms. Wang, who heads the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was previously seen by some as a potential successor to Li.

Full of loyalists: Their surprise departure opens two more spots on the Standing Committee for Xi to fill with his own allies and proteges. Two other members on the body are past retirement age and set to step down.

A standing committee line-up that fills the body with Xi loyalists would “change the power sharing arrangement that China has seen since the late 1970s,” according to Victor Shih, an expert on elite Chinese politics at the University of California San Diego.

“Informally, Xi Jinping’s powers are (already) extremely high. He restructured the military, cleansed the security apparatus of other influence, but formally speaking in the Politburo Standing Committee, even right now, there is a balance of power, where officials historically unaffiliated with him, still held seats – that may come to an end,” said Shih.

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Hu Jintao, left, leaves his seat during the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22.

Hu Jintao, left, leaves his seat during the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22.

(Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Today’s unveiling of the Standing Committee, China’s most powerful decision-making body, follows a day of drama and speculation after the end of the Party Congress on Saturday.

The congress, a week-long meeting of the Communist Party’s top leaders, wrapped up in Beijing with several announcements including the list of the newly-formed 205-member Central Committee — but an unexpected exit from the room came to define the day.

Here are a few key moments:

  • All eyes on Hu Jintao: The 79-year-old former leader, Xi Jinping’s predecessor, was led out of the hall by two men during the closing ceremony. The circumstances around his departure were not immediately clear, but he appeared reluctant to leave. He has been seen in increasingly frail health in public in recent years. Later that night, state-run news agency Xinhua said on its English-language Twitter — which is blocked in China — that Hu had been removed for “health” reasons and that he is now “much better.” The incident has not been reported in state-run Chinese-language media or discussed on Chinese social media, where such conversation is highly restricted.
  • New Central Committee: The congress unveiled the Central Committee, the party’s main leadership body, with Xi among the new members. Only 11 members are women — or roughly 5% of the total.
  • Li Keqiang to step down: The Chinese Premier, the second most powerful official after Xi, is not listed in the newly-formed Central Committee — which means Li is set to retire from his party role. Analysts say this could significantly tilt the balance of power in Xi’s favor, eliminating any last vestiges of moderate resistance.
  • No new titles: Xi was not granted new titles or honorifics — and the name of his political ideology, already enshrined in the party charter, was not given additional weight. Experts had speculated ahead of the congress that either of these could happen, which would have further cemented his power. But while Xi was not given a new title, the congress did approve the amendment of its charter, adding several Xi-backed phrases including “struggle” or “fighting spirit” — a term often used by Chinese leaders when speaking about external challenges or perceived threats.
Delegates attend the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China's ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22.

Delegates attend the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of China’s ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22.

(Ng Han Guan/AP)

On Sunday, all eyes are on the reveal of the Communist Party’s top leadership.

The new members of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee, China’s most powerful decision-making body, will make their first appearance in the Great Hall of the People in a moment expected to confirm Xi Jinping’s likely step into a norm-breaking third term and cement his place as China’s most powerful leader in decades.

Which party members follow Xi into the hall as new committee members will reveal much about the extent of his sway within the opaque inner-working of elite party politics – and could provide clues as to whether he sees his rule extending past three terms.

Here’s what to watch:

Open seats. In recent years the standing committee has included seven members, who typically step down in accordance with an unofficial retirement age that sees those 68 and above at the time of the Congress retiring. This year, however, two additional members, 67 year-old Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, neither of whom are thought to be close Xi allies, will also step down – making room for a sweeping reshuffle that will see four new seats filled.

Allies and proteges. One strong indicator of Xi’s power will be the extent to which he is able to fill those open seats with party members in his sphere. Several proteges and allies of Xi have been flagged by watchers of elite Chinese politics as likely candidates for promotion. Those include Chongqing party chief Chen Min’er, 62, Ding Xuexiang, 60, who runs the General Office of the Communist Party, and Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, 63.

Potential successor. Experts will be watching whether there will be a young face – and potential successor – in the standing committee, which could signal whether or not Xi is aiming for a fourth term. The lack of a successor among the line-up at the last Party Congress in 2017 served as a strong signal that Xi was planning to break with recent precedent and claim a third term – a long-calculated move expected to come to fruition tomorrow.

Selection process. While the new committee members and the larger 25-member Politburo of which it is a part, will be formally rubber-stamped by the party’s newly formed Central Committee, the real decisions over who fills the Party’s top spots are believed to be made in the months prior to this week’s events in closed-door discussions between top party leaders.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/china-party-congress-10-23-22-intl-hnk/index.html