The seven men who will lead Chinese politics for the next five years were presented to the press this Sunday morning (23) in Beijing. Unsurprisingly, Xi Jinping has been reappointed for a third term and will chair the Politburo Standing Committee — the heart of China’s political hierarchy — leading the country until at least 2028.
Along with Xi, the Party’s general secretary in Shanghai, Li Qiang, the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zhao Leji, the head of the CCP Secretariat, Wang Huning, and the Party’s general secretary in Beijing, took the podium. , Cai Qi, the director of the Party General Office, Ding Xuexiang, and the General Secretary of the Party in Guangzhou, Li Xi.
The big surprise was the absence of Hu Chunhua. A member of the Communist Youth — a formerly powerful faction in the Party’s internal structure, from which former Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Premier Li Keqiang emerged — Hu was one of the few names floated for promotion not automatically aligned with Xi and a top favorite at the time. prime post.
In his place, the now ex-secretary general of the Chinese CP in Shanghai, Li Qiang, will be in his place. Historically, Shanghai has been fertile ground for leaders who aspire to the Standing Committee. With the exception of Chen Liangyu, who was ousted after corruption allegations in 2006, every party chief in the city has joined the Politburo Standing Committee in the past 33 years.
The surprise is how high Li Qiang managed to climb the internal hierarchy. He was heavily criticized internally at the beginning of the year for the disastrous way in which he managed the Covid-19 outbreak in the main national economic hub, leading the metropolis to a two-month lockdown.
First to hold the post without ever having held it, having been vice premier since Zhou Enlai (one of the founding fathers of communist China) and Hua Guofeng (Mao Tse-tung’s chosen heir), Li also did not hold any posts in the State Council, China’s top administrative authority and seen as a key step in the career of every premier in the country’s history.
His promotion seemed difficult, but in the end his connection with the Chinese leader worked in his favor. Li Qiang worked with Xi when he served as general secretary of Zhejiang Province. Since then, he has been loyal to his colleague.
Another surprise was the promotion of Cai Qi. Another loyal squire of Xi, Cai is seen internally as a less prestigious politician, and in his place, Chen Min’er, party chief in Chongqing, China’s largest city, was expected to be promoted.
With the announcement, Xi Jinping cemented his power within the Communist Party, managing to fill all positions with close allies.
The ceremony for the announcement of the new members began almost without delay – a sign of apparent internal consensus – and the order of entry into the so-called Golden Hall indicates how Chinese politics will unfold in the coming years.
In addition to Xi himself leading the pack, Li Qiang was the second to enter, confirming his post as prime minister. Zhao Leji, the third, is to head the National People’s Congress. One of Xi’s key ideologues, Wang Huning will head the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Cai Qi will likely be in charge of ideological alignment, while Ding Xuexiang takes over as executive vice premier and Li Xi rounds out the list charged with leading anti-corruption efforts.
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