The congress that should give Xi a new mandate in China has been started

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China published last Sunday (25) the names of all delegates who will participate in the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a meeting that should grant Xi Jinping a third term and consolidate him as one of the most powerful politicians in the world. country since Deng Xiaoping.

To compose the list, the Chinese CP convened regional congresses across the country and 2,296 people were chosen at these meetings, according to an official statement. They will now undergo a background check procedure, before being confirmed by a qualification review committee.

Although it doesn’t bring big surprises, this year’s delegation will be slightly more diverse compared to the 2018 Congress. According to the South China Morning Post, 620 of the total are women (an increase of three percentage points, reaching 27 % of the total), although the number of representatives of ethnic minorities remained the same (260, or 11%).

According to the state news agency Xinhua, the selection of delegates was guided by the principles of “Xi Jinping’s thinking on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era”, the philosophical basis of the current Chinese leader embodied in the constitution. Also according to the agency, citing Central Organization Department sources, Xi “was personally involved” in the choice of delegates and has received constant reports on progress in choosing regional representatives.

why it matters: The delegates will travel to Beijing and, starting on the 16th, they will elect the members of the Party’s Central Committee, who are responsible for choosing the 25 members of the Politburo. From this smaller group come the names of the Standing Committee, the heart of Chinese power, led by the one to be named leader of China.

But more likely they all serve only to validate decisions that are already made among the top Chinese leadership about who should and should not be promoted. At this point, there is no doubt that Xi will be re-elected, while the names for the Standing Committee are likely already closed.

Tip of the week: If you understand English well, it’s worth listening to the podcast “The Prince”, launched by the British magazine The Economist. It is the first independent biographical work ever done on the life of Xi Jinping, divided into eight excellent episodes. Available here.

what also matters

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information said it would promote a pioneering policy in support of what it called “digital humans”, that is, the use of avatars in the metaverse.

The forecast is that the market will earn ¥50 billion (R$ 37.9 billion) in the country by 2025. The city intends to invest in the creation of a logistics and governance standard that underpins the emergence of business models in the so-called internet 3.0.

Beijing hopes the policy will revolutionize initiatives such as the use of remote banking agents, innovative broadcasts of live shows, job interviews and e-commerce persuasion techniques.

The plan established as a short-term goal the construction of ten companies, laboratories and business technological innovation centers and at least five common technology platforms. The expectation is that, by 2025, China will already have one or two companies specialized in the subject with revenues exceeding ¥5 billion (about R$ 3.7 billion).

O The Chinese government this week launched a national survey to understand what is causing the decline in birth rates and marriages.. Conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (Chinese equivalent to our IBGE), the survey had already been carried out in testing mode in Hunan province since the beginning of the month and will now be expanded.

At least 20,000 Chinese aged between 20 and 44 will be heard. The questionnaire will ask questions about fears related to the party, main problems in family planning policies, difficulties in raising children, etc. The idea is that the study will support better-informed policies to increase births in China.

The government is trying to reverse (or at least slow down) the downward trend in population, a problem that could have a strong impact on the economy. According to the 2020 census, China’s fertility rate stands at 1.3 children per woman — down from the 2.1 needed to keep the population stable. Since then, benefits announced by the government, such as tax reductions and easier access to public services for young parents, have had no effect to change the scenario.

Keep an eye

Taiwan has announced that it will remove the mandatory quarantine requirement for those visiting the island and will return to welcoming tourists.

Starting on October 13, those arriving in Taipei will only need to self-monitor for symptoms of Covid-19 for seven days, without the need to stay in a closed hotel. Travelers who wish to leave during the self-monitoring period should have a rapid antigen test.

Previously, the only local easing had been in June, when the government determined a reduction in the number of days of isolation (from seven to three).

why does it matter: With the announcement, mainland China becomes one of only two Asian countries to maintain border controls to prevent the transmission of Covid (along with North Korea). Although it also reduced the number of days of the mandatory quarantine – from 14 to seven – the Chinese government seems adamant about the total reopening, and tourism has been banned since 2020.

Resistance can cost not only China’s economic growth, but symbolic power as well. Virtually isolated from the region, the country has been supplanted in attracting skilled labor by other Asian hubs, such as Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul.

to go deep

• The Confucius Institute and Unesp will launch the 7th Chinese cinema show on the 4th. The event will be in person and will take place at the São Paulo Cultural Center, with tickets distributed one hour before each session. The complete schedule is available here. (free, in portuguese)
• Observa China held a webinar yesterday (29) to discuss Chinese domestic politics ahead of the Congress that is expected to give Xi a new mandate. The chat recording is available here. (free, in portuguese)
• Harvard University has opened applications for a lecture on the meaning of “Chinese rise” in China and the US, also discussing the consequences of how this concept is interpreted in Sino-US relations. (free, in english)