Xi Jinping enters third term as China’s most powerful leader in decades and surrounded by loyalists

From Mao to Xi Jinping: The Story of China’s Presidents 4:01 (CNN) — China’s leader Xi Jinping has formally entered his rule-breaking third term and rules with an iron grip on power, revealing a new leadership team packed with loyal allies. On Sunday, a day after the close of the five-year Communist Party Congress, Xi announced six men (Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi) to join him as members of the Committee. Politburo Permanent, China’s highest governing body. The group, packed with staunch Xi loyalists, made it clear that Xi not only broke recent precedent to take on a third term at the helm of the party, but also concentrated power at the top of the party to an extent not expected. had seen in decades. Xi also revealed the full lineup of the 24-member Politburo, which for the first time in at least 25 years does not include women, underscoring the dearth of female representation at the highest levels of the party. The four new faces on the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee are all longtime allies and protégés of Xi: Li Qiang, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi. The new lineup clears the way for him to rule for a third term with minimal internal discord and underscores that affinity for Xi trumps everything else in China’s current political landscape. This is the legacy of communist leader Xi Jinping in China 3:03 No room for moderates The radical shakeup of the Standing Committee came after the departure of key party leaders not in Xi’s inner circle: Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, head of China’s top advisory body. Both have stepped down from the top governing body despite being a year under the party’s unofficial retirement age of 68 and eligible to serve another term. Xi, at 69, is a year above that informal limit. That change was made clear on Saturday at the close of the Party Congress. The day’s events were briefly interrupted by an unexpected scene when Xi’s immediate predecessor Hu Jintao, who is 79 years old and has been in failing health in recent years, was escorted out of the Great Hall of the People from his seat next to Xi. For reasons that weren’t immediately clear, though Hu seemed initially reluctant to leave. Also notable for his absence from the new Standing Committee lineup announced Sunday is Hu Chunhua, 59, a vice premier seen as more in the orbit of Li Keqiang and the elder Hu. Hu Chunhua had once been promoted as a top leadership candidate, but was not promoted from the Politburo to the Standing Committee at the Party Congress five years ago. This time, Hu even walked out of the new 24-member Politburo, in a further sign of his bleak political future and Xi’s unrivaled power. A clear successor to Xi is also absent. Standing Committee lineups before the Xi era have included younger members as potential successors. But given that the youngest member is now 60, there is no prominent name in the mix, a potential sign that Xi is not planning to step down any time soon. Eliminating rivals and elevating allies creates an “unprecedented” situation for the governing body that will power the world’s second-largest economy, according to Chen Gang, a senior fellow at the East Asia Institute at the National University of Singapore. What concern does the collapse of Chinese shares bring? 1:01 “This new alignment is not a product of power sharing or haggling between different factions, but is basically the result or consequence of Xi’s authority,” Chen said. “We have entered a new era, as Xi now controls almost all aspects related to policy formulation and decision making,” he said. “We see a kind of centralized bureaucracy in China, which will definitely have an impact on China’s economic and foreign policy trajectory in the future.” Expansion of control While the lineup revealed on Sunday is the highest tier of the Communist Party, those selected will then fill top government posts, as appointments will be made in the coming months ahead of a key meeting of the country’s official legislature in March. The new alignment means that Xi will also gain greater control over all aspects of the Chinese state, including the economy, which is traditionally the domain of the prime minister, who heads his State Council. That post is now expected to go to Shanghai party boss Li Qiang, a longtime Xi loyalist who has been appointed to the number two post in the party, despite the two-month protests that followed. to a chaotic covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai earlier this year. Li’s appointment is one of several “norm-breaking” elements of this year’s leadership shakeup, according to Victor Shih, an expert on elite Chinese politics at the University of California, San Diego, who noted that Li’s appointment it will place a leader without any experience in the Council of State, something that has not been seen in decades. “The Chinese economy and the State Council itself are much more complex today compared to the 1980s. Not having that experience will, initially at least, make the job of managing China’s state machinery much more challenging.” said Shih, author of “Coalitions of the Weak,” a book on elite politics in China in recent decades. Covid-19: Chinese iPhone-Making City Shuts Down 0:42 Meanwhile, the concentration of power “introduces a certain unhealthy dynamic into policymaking in that the people close to him are those who, over the long Over the years, they have honed the skills of always agreeing with and supporting Xi Jinping’s opinion,” he said. Other new members include Cai, 66, Beijing’s party chief and one of Xi’s most trusted confidants; Li Xi, 66, the current party chief of Guangdong province, the economic powerhouse of southern China, and Xi’s trusted ally, who is expected to oversee the anti-corruption organization; and Ding, 60, a chief of staff and a close aide to Xi. Third term The new power dynamic also heralds a triumph for Xi’s agenda on how to move China forward in the years to come. “The main story is obvious: Xi Jinping and his gang consolidate his power, the question is to what end,” said David Goodman, director of the Center for China Studies at the University of Sydney. He pointed to likely discussions among leaders in recent years about how to promote economic development, including the extent to which China has both a state and private sector and debate over immediate economic needs versus “common prosperity,” a vision to reduce China’s wealth gap. “What I take away from this conference is the (emphasis on) common prosperity, which is now enshrined in the party constitution,” Goodman said. In addition to the departure of Li and Wang, who are associated with the much-diminished Communist Youth League faction backed by Hu Jintao, others who have been known for a more market-friendly stance, such as financial officials Liu He, Yi Gang and Guo Shuqing will also not be part of the party’s elite, 205-member Central Committee. Wang Yi, 69, a member of the Central Committee, also indicates support for China’s aggressive foreign policy stance. But despite Xi’s unprecedented grip on power, he will not necessarily have an easy road ahead, given domestic economic challenges and strained international relations, issues Xi alluded to in a keynote address to the Party Congress on Thursday. Last Sunday. What is the future of China under Xi Jinping? 4:18 “Today’s world is facing unprecedented challenges,” Xi told reporters on Sunday, after introducing his new leadership team. “On the road ahead, no matter the high winds, rough waters, or even dangerous storms, the people will always be our strongest support and greatest trust,” he stated. A Standing Committee packed with loyalists can make the top body “an all-man Xi team,” but “it doesn’t necessarily mean that Xi will become an omnipotent supreme leader and can do anything,” said Yang Zhang, a professor assistant in the School of International Service of the American University. “Your power from him will be held back by his limited ability and decreased energy as he ages,” he said. Meanwhile, Xi’s own associates will split into different blocs and vie for power, while Xi’s full control also means his team will be fully responsible for any policy mistakes and could spark further international backlash from Western countries. led by the United States, according to Zhang. “All of these scenarios will make his third term, and possibly his fourth, not as easy as expected,” he noted.