Mr. Xi, who has already controlled China for ten years, will now remain in power for at least five more years, and in principle, he could become a leader for life.
China has made history with the confirmation that President Xi Jinping will continue in power, breaking a decades-old convention that limits the terms of Chinese leaders.
Having controlled China for ten years, Mr. Xi will now serve for at least another five-year term; in principle, he might become a leader for life.
The break with convention has made him China’s most powerful leader since Chairman Mao, and his vision has become progressively uncontestable.
The ratification came after the Communist Party of China’s 20th Party Congress, which lasted a week.
The goal of this once-every-five-years gathering is to pick the individuals who will hold the top leadership positions for the following five years.
This contains the two bodies regarded as the pinnacle of political authority in China: the 25-member Politburo and the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, which includes the president.
President Xi announced the new standing committee by escorting its members onstage in rank order. His leadership of the procession served as proof that he will continue to serve as the party’s general secretary. March will mark his official confirmation as president.
After Chairman Mao’s demise in the early 1980s, the two-term restriction for Chinese presidents was established.
Mao’s nearly 30-year dictatorship brought chaos, violence, and instability to China, therefore it was decided to adopt a “collective leadership” approach and assure that power would never again be so concentrated in the hands of a single individual.
Mr. Xi successfully abolished the two-term restriction from the constitution in 2018, opening the path for this weekend’s cementing of his power.
Other constitutional revisions have been adopted this week to further emphasize Mr. Xi’s “core” status as the party’s leader.
Changes to the Politburo Standing Committee also indicate that he has become less susceptible to the opposition.
Particularly noteworthy is the demotion of Li Keqiang and Wang Yang from the standing committee. Both are young enough to serve another term and tilt toward reform, but neither is seen as a staunch Xi loyalist.
Due to two additional retirements, the top team had four new faces. Four guys are regarded to be members of Mr. Xi’s inner circle. All have worked closely with him at various periods in his career and are likely to be regarded as trustworthy individuals.
It symbolizes Mr. Xi packing the standing committee with his closest allies and appears to provide little in the way of a peace offering to other party wings.
In addition, there was no obvious successor in the lineup of the standing committee. Typically, a designated successor is any member of the team who is young enough to spend one term as leader-in-waiting and two terms as leader before reaching the retirement age of 68, however, there was no one of this age.
This suggests Mr. Xi may aim to remain in office for another decade or more.
His entrenched position is incredibly significant in China and the rest of the globe because it signifies that his vision for the country will endure.
Under his leadership, China has become more prosperous and powerful. His ultranationalist perspective has made the nation more forceful on the international stage and shameless about its ascent.
In his ten years at the helm, President Xi has consolidated most of the state and party power under his leadership. He has eliminated opponents and suppressed opposition.
In China, surveillance and censorship are intensifying, while journalists, lawyers, and civil society groups have been largely silenced.
In his speech, he discussed his desire for a “great rejuvenation” of China but made frequent references to a “dangerous storm” and “choppy waters” in the future, which may have alarmed some international spectators.
According to experts, it would now take a political earthquake to unseat him, which seems increasingly improbable.
