The Communist Party of China (CCP) is set to confirm President Xi Jinping for a historic third term as leader and announce the members of the plenipotentiary Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). .
Mr. Xi’s appointment as general secretary of the CCP on Sunday will solidify his position as China’s most influential leader since Mao Zedong and put the country back unequivocally towards the rule of law. ruling one man after decades of power sharing among elites.
The new leadership will be announced at 04:00GMT on Sunday when Mr. Xi is expected to enter the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He was followed by the remaining members of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, in descending order of rank.
The PSC is expected to have at least four new appointments to replace Premier Li Keqiang and members Han Zheng, Wang Yang and Li Zhanshu.
The four were absent from the CCP’s new 205-member Central Committee, which was formally elected on Saturday at the congress’s closing session, and from their ranks, the 25-member Politburo and the preeminent PSC. better is selected.
Li Keqiang, the nation’s second commander-in-chief, is a proponent of market-oriented reforms, in contrast to Xi’s moves to expand state control over the economy. His removal from the PSC, while not unexpected, signals Xi’s continued grip on power in the world’s second-largest economy.
Analysts say the omission of Li and Wang in particular is a sign PSC is likely to be stacked with those close to Xi.
Neither has long-standing ties to Xi, while both have ties to the Communist Youth League, a once influential group that experts say has lost power under the Chinese president. Country.
A political scholar in Beijing, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters news agency that Li was the sole opposition voice in the PSC.
“From the outside, Mr. Xi is free to do whatever he wants. It means he no longer faces any resistance or checks and balances in PSC. All future policies will be carried out according to his will,” said the scholar.
In an unusual moment during the closing ceremony, former President Hu Jintao, who sat next to Mr. Xi, escort off the stage.
Looking distressed, Hu, 79, seemed resistant to leaving as managers escorted him out. He looked a little wobbly last Sunday when he was supported on the same stage.
State media reported late Saturday that Hu had insisted on attending the session despite being unwell.
“When he was not feeling well during the session, his staff, for his health, accompanied him to a room next to the meeting venue to rest. Now, he is much better,” Xinhua said on Twitter.
At the congress, the party also approved amendments to its constitution aimed at cementing Mr. Xi’s core position and his political ideological leadership in a party of some 96 million members.
Among the amendments, the “Two Bases” identifies Xi as the “core” leader of the party and his ideas as a guide for China’s future development. The “two safeguards” ensure Xi’s “core” position in the party and the party’s centralized power over China.
Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told AFP news agency: “Which way you look at it, it’s almost a total victory for Xi.
The moves will allow Xi to enter a third term as China’s president, which is expected to be formally announced during the government’s annual legislative sessions in March.
Mr. Xi had previously abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, paving the way for him to rule indefinitely.
