Xi Jinping unveils new line-up of Communist Party leaders, delays indicating a successor
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday unveiled the new members of the Communist party’s highest decision-making body who for the next five years will rule the world’s second-largest economy.
Just before noon on Wednesday, President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang - the only two remaining members of the Communist party’s 2012 politburo standing committee (SC) - led the new five members to meet journalists at the packed and ornate Eastern Hall in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
On Tuesday, Xi himself got a renewed mandate to continue as the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the world’s largest political party, for another five years.
The five new members in order of seniority were: Li Zhanshu, director of the party’s general office who serves as Xi’s chief of staff; vice premier Wang Yang; Wang Huning, director of the party’s central policy research office; Zhao Leji, head of the central organization department responsible for job assignments; and Shanghai party leader Han Zheng, a veteran manager of the country’s financial hub.
Zhao is expected to head the CPC’s corruption watchdog body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which was at the forefront of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign since 2013.
While the selection procedure to the SC remains a closely-guarded secret, the composition indicates an effort to balance various interest groups in the country.
Two of the front-runners who were expected to make it to the SC - Chen Min’er, the Chongqing city party secretary and Hu Chunwa, the Guangdong province party chief - didn’t make it to the SC.
Both leaders, in their late ‘50s and considered to be part of the 6th generation of Chinese leaders, however, made it to the Politburo, the 25 member group of senior most CPC leaders including the seven SC members.
Not including the two younger leaders could be an indication that Xi has delayed indicating a successor at this year’s Congress, the key CPC event where leadership changes are announced.
All the new members of the new SC are in their 60s and would likely retire by 2022 when Xi’s term would end.
State councilor Yang Jiechi, who is the special representative for border talks with India, found a place in the Politburo as well.
Challenges for the new team
China’s new leaders face tough internal and external challenges comprising a slowing of the economy as well as increasing levels of local debt besides a more belligerent North Korea at its doorstep.
“China has a problem of a slowing economy besides an ageing society and whole lot of unresolved issues in the society,” AK Kantha, former Indian envoy to China told HT.
But Xi also sees the present as a great opportunity for China, he said.
“This point of time with the US distracted and in temporary retreat from the region, Xi sees an opening, which might not last for too long,” Kantha said.
“In the next five years to come, the two greatest domestic and foreign relations challenges facing Xi Jinping are: 1) to turn around the economic down-turn and 2) the North Korean nuclear issue.
Policy on neighbours
In terms of India, China will not play tough, but, instead, will try to buy peace. This is because since Xi took office, China’s border issues have become tense all around: the dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the dispute with South Korea over the deployment of THAAD, and disputes in the South China Sea with the Philippines and Vietnam,”
Gao Wenqian, senior policy advisor, at New York-based Human Rights in China and author of official biographies of Mao Zedong and former Premier Zhou Enlai told HT over email
“With all this, China will not be able to afford to add fights with India to this mix. In addition, the military led by Xi is filled with internal conflicts: the top commanders don’t have faith in the rank-and-file, nor do they have their support. It is a military that is hard to deploy,” he said.
“One can predict that after the 19th Party Congress, Xi will continue his rule-by-suppression in the country, comprehensively controlling the society, and cracking down on any social forces that dare challenge the CPC. The human rights situation in China will continue to worsen. If the economy continues to slide, social conflicts will intensify, and official suppression will redouble,” Gao said.
Source: Hindustan Times
The omnipotent seven: meet the men who make up China's new politburo
As Xi Jinping begins his second term as China’s president, who are the members of his inner circle?
Xi Jinping bestrides the seven-strong politburo, but there are six other people - all men - who will sit in power with him over the next five years. They are profiled below.
Wang Huning, China’s Kissinger
Already firmly within Xi’s inner circle, Wang Huning is the president’s top foreign policy adviser and frequently travels overseas with China’s leader. A former scholar known for his theories on ‘neo-authoritarianism’, Wang, 62, was an adviser to Xi’s two predecessors and has reputedly been influential in shaping Xi’s political thoughts.
Like Xi, a centraliser who has turned away from the kind of collective leadership introduced after Mao Zedong’s death, Wang advocates strong central leadership and is known for his hostility to high-level corruption.
Li Zhanshu, The Whip
A longtime friend of Xi and his current chief of staff, Li Zhanshu has become a powerful advocate for the president and his policies. Li, 67, was instrumental last year in Xi’s anointment as China’s “core” leader and reportedly also played a key role in having Xi Jinping Thought added to the party charter this week, an honour which places him in the same league as Mao.
Li has taken on roles beyond the traditional remit of his office, meeting with Vladimir Putin ahead of a state visit in 2015 and heading up poverty alleviation work, one of Xi’s signature domestic policies.
Li Keqiang, The odd bedfellow
As premier, Li Keqiang is officially China’s second most powerful politician, but his role has been considerably downgraded under Xi. Li, 62, is seen as an ally of former president Hu Jintao, and Xi has worked to limit his influence since taking power in 2012.
Li bore the brunt of the blame for China’s 2015 stock market meltdown and subsequently saw much of his power ebb away. There had even been persistent rumors Li would demoted, unheard of in the modern era of Chinese politics, although those faded in recent months
Wang Yang, The Negotiator
Wang Yang, 62, is China’s top trade negotiator, frequently going toe to toe with US officials in talks. He previously ran the economic powerhouse of Guangdong province and came up through the Communist Youth League, a faction within the government that has been greatly weakened since Xi came to power.
He has been a champion of private enterprise and even nominally tolerated civil society. As a result, he is seen as a relatively liberal, reform-minded politician albeit in the context of an authoritarian political system which values social stability above all else.
During the 2008 financial crisis, Wang declined to intervene to prevent a wave of bankruptcies, preferring to let the market pick winners and losers.
Han Zheng, The Technocrat
Han Zheng, 63, has spent his entire career in Shanghai and was Xi’s deputy during his brief stint there as party chief in 2007. Han worked to transform the city into a international financial hub and most recently oversaw the establishment of a free trade zone, with mixed results.
His background as a seasoned economic technocrat will be vital as growth continues to slow and the government works to fix long-simmering problems. He favors market policies over central planning and could emerge as a top economic decision maker in the coming years.
Zhao Leji, The Kingmaker
Zhao Leji, 60, headed the party’s powerful and mysterious Organisation Department, overseeing the appointment of all officials across China. He missed out on a seat on the standing committee at the last congress, in 2012, after the number of members was cut from nine to seven. But on Tuesday he was unveiled as the powerful new head of China’s anti-corruption watchdog.
Until 2007, Zhao ran the sparsely populated Qinghai province, home to a large Tibetan minority, and manged to double economic output in his seven years in the post. His father was friends with Xi’s father and Zhao is seen as a leader of one of the two rising political factions.
Source: The Guardian
OP note: I have been talking to some young people here about their views on the Congress and most of them - even the Party members - were not following it particularly closely. Most people outside of Beijing have more immediate things to worry about than the latest cabinet reshuffle and CPC palace intrigue. Eventually the changes will ripple down to the local governments, which is where people are more focused. One thing that is for sure, though, is that Xi is legit popular.
One person shared with me her feeling that most Chinese don't really care about the talk of improving military capabilities or becoming more assertive in world affairs. According to her the two things most Chinese care about right now are unaffordable housing and the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. On these, there was a significant development this week, which was the change to the "principal contradiction" to focus less on unbridled growth and more on balanced development. The party line offers reassurance for the upcoming term: China embraces new "principal contradiction" when embarking on new journey
Just before noon on Wednesday, President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang - the only two remaining members of the Communist party’s 2012 politburo standing committee (SC) - led the new five members to meet journalists at the packed and ornate Eastern Hall in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
On Tuesday, Xi himself got a renewed mandate to continue as the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the world’s largest political party, for another five years.
The five new members in order of seniority were: Li Zhanshu, director of the party’s general office who serves as Xi’s chief of staff; vice premier Wang Yang; Wang Huning, director of the party’s central policy research office; Zhao Leji, head of the central organization department responsible for job assignments; and Shanghai party leader Han Zheng, a veteran manager of the country’s financial hub.
Zhao is expected to head the CPC’s corruption watchdog body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which was at the forefront of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign since 2013.
While the selection procedure to the SC remains a closely-guarded secret, the composition indicates an effort to balance various interest groups in the country.
Two of the front-runners who were expected to make it to the SC - Chen Min’er, the Chongqing city party secretary and Hu Chunwa, the Guangdong province party chief - didn’t make it to the SC.
Both leaders, in their late ‘50s and considered to be part of the 6th generation of Chinese leaders, however, made it to the Politburo, the 25 member group of senior most CPC leaders including the seven SC members.
Not including the two younger leaders could be an indication that Xi has delayed indicating a successor at this year’s Congress, the key CPC event where leadership changes are announced.
All the new members of the new SC are in their 60s and would likely retire by 2022 when Xi’s term would end.
State councilor Yang Jiechi, who is the special representative for border talks with India, found a place in the Politburo as well.
Challenges for the new team
China’s new leaders face tough internal and external challenges comprising a slowing of the economy as well as increasing levels of local debt besides a more belligerent North Korea at its doorstep.
“China has a problem of a slowing economy besides an ageing society and whole lot of unresolved issues in the society,” AK Kantha, former Indian envoy to China told HT.
But Xi also sees the present as a great opportunity for China, he said.
“This point of time with the US distracted and in temporary retreat from the region, Xi sees an opening, which might not last for too long,” Kantha said.
“In the next five years to come, the two greatest domestic and foreign relations challenges facing Xi Jinping are: 1) to turn around the economic down-turn and 2) the North Korean nuclear issue.
Policy on neighbours
In terms of India, China will not play tough, but, instead, will try to buy peace. This is because since Xi took office, China’s border issues have become tense all around: the dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the dispute with South Korea over the deployment of THAAD, and disputes in the South China Sea with the Philippines and Vietnam,”
Gao Wenqian, senior policy advisor, at New York-based Human Rights in China and author of official biographies of Mao Zedong and former Premier Zhou Enlai told HT over email
“With all this, China will not be able to afford to add fights with India to this mix. In addition, the military led by Xi is filled with internal conflicts: the top commanders don’t have faith in the rank-and-file, nor do they have their support. It is a military that is hard to deploy,” he said.
“One can predict that after the 19th Party Congress, Xi will continue his rule-by-suppression in the country, comprehensively controlling the society, and cracking down on any social forces that dare challenge the CPC. The human rights situation in China will continue to worsen. If the economy continues to slide, social conflicts will intensify, and official suppression will redouble,” Gao said.
Source: Hindustan Times
The omnipotent seven: meet the men who make up China's new politburo
As Xi Jinping begins his second term as China’s president, who are the members of his inner circle?
Xi Jinping bestrides the seven-strong politburo, but there are six other people - all men - who will sit in power with him over the next five years. They are profiled below.
Wang Huning, China’s Kissinger
Already firmly within Xi’s inner circle, Wang Huning is the president’s top foreign policy adviser and frequently travels overseas with China’s leader. A former scholar known for his theories on ‘neo-authoritarianism’, Wang, 62, was an adviser to Xi’s two predecessors and has reputedly been influential in shaping Xi’s political thoughts.
Like Xi, a centraliser who has turned away from the kind of collective leadership introduced after Mao Zedong’s death, Wang advocates strong central leadership and is known for his hostility to high-level corruption.
Li Zhanshu, The Whip
A longtime friend of Xi and his current chief of staff, Li Zhanshu has become a powerful advocate for the president and his policies. Li, 67, was instrumental last year in Xi’s anointment as China’s “core” leader and reportedly also played a key role in having Xi Jinping Thought added to the party charter this week, an honour which places him in the same league as Mao.
Li has taken on roles beyond the traditional remit of his office, meeting with Vladimir Putin ahead of a state visit in 2015 and heading up poverty alleviation work, one of Xi’s signature domestic policies.
Li Keqiang, The odd bedfellow
As premier, Li Keqiang is officially China’s second most powerful politician, but his role has been considerably downgraded under Xi. Li, 62, is seen as an ally of former president Hu Jintao, and Xi has worked to limit his influence since taking power in 2012.
Li bore the brunt of the blame for China’s 2015 stock market meltdown and subsequently saw much of his power ebb away. There had even been persistent rumors Li would demoted, unheard of in the modern era of Chinese politics, although those faded in recent months
Wang Yang, The Negotiator
Wang Yang, 62, is China’s top trade negotiator, frequently going toe to toe with US officials in talks. He previously ran the economic powerhouse of Guangdong province and came up through the Communist Youth League, a faction within the government that has been greatly weakened since Xi came to power.
He has been a champion of private enterprise and even nominally tolerated civil society. As a result, he is seen as a relatively liberal, reform-minded politician albeit in the context of an authoritarian political system which values social stability above all else.
During the 2008 financial crisis, Wang declined to intervene to prevent a wave of bankruptcies, preferring to let the market pick winners and losers.
Han Zheng, The Technocrat
Han Zheng, 63, has spent his entire career in Shanghai and was Xi’s deputy during his brief stint there as party chief in 2007. Han worked to transform the city into a international financial hub and most recently oversaw the establishment of a free trade zone, with mixed results.
His background as a seasoned economic technocrat will be vital as growth continues to slow and the government works to fix long-simmering problems. He favors market policies over central planning and could emerge as a top economic decision maker in the coming years.
Zhao Leji, The Kingmaker
Zhao Leji, 60, headed the party’s powerful and mysterious Organisation Department, overseeing the appointment of all officials across China. He missed out on a seat on the standing committee at the last congress, in 2012, after the number of members was cut from nine to seven. But on Tuesday he was unveiled as the powerful new head of China’s anti-corruption watchdog.
Until 2007, Zhao ran the sparsely populated Qinghai province, home to a large Tibetan minority, and manged to double economic output in his seven years in the post. His father was friends with Xi’s father and Zhao is seen as a leader of one of the two rising political factions.
Source: The Guardian
OP note: I have been talking to some young people here about their views on the Congress and most of them - even the Party members - were not following it particularly closely. Most people outside of Beijing have more immediate things to worry about than the latest cabinet reshuffle and CPC palace intrigue. Eventually the changes will ripple down to the local governments, which is where people are more focused. One thing that is for sure, though, is that Xi is legit popular.
One person shared with me her feeling that most Chinese don't really care about the talk of improving military capabilities or becoming more assertive in world affairs. According to her the two things most Chinese care about right now are unaffordable housing and the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. On these, there was a significant development this week, which was the change to the "principal contradiction" to focus less on unbridled growth and more on balanced development. The party line offers reassurance for the upcoming term: China embraces new "principal contradiction" when embarking on new journey