Xi Jinping took charge of the Chinese Communist Party in late 2012. Now, in 2022, as he secures his third term, he consolidates power by bringing only allies to the Politburo Standing Committee.
The new members of the body – the political heart of the Asian country – were presented to the press this Sunday morning (23), in Beijing, after the end of the 20th party congress. Among the nominees are names with long-standing ties to Xi’s family and politicians loyal to the Chinese leader.
See who will lead the Communist Party under Xi.
Li Qiang, 63
A close ally of Xi, he was until then the party’s general secretary in Shanghai, a metropolis seen as an important training step for top national leaders, and is set to become premier.
Li Qiang led the heavily criticized lockdown in the city earlier this year in the fight against Covid-19. The Covid Zero approach did not please public opinion due to the damage to the local economy.
With Xi, Li became governor of Zhejiang and was also secretary general of Jiangsu province.
Zhao Leji, 65
Former secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, an anti-corruption body and instrument for strengthening the Communist Party, he has been a member of the Politburo since 2012.
He also headed the Organization Department, overseeing the appointment of senior officials from China. In the post, he has placed Xi’s allies in key positions in the country over the past decade.
Wang Huning, 67
Political theorist and closest adviser to Xi on propaganda and foreign policy.
A former academic, Wang advocates a strong, centralized state to combat foreign influence, as well as robust central leadership, rejecting the collective command model introduced after Mao Tse-tung’s death. He served as director of the Central Office for Policy Research between 2002 and 2020.
Fall Qi, 66
Secretary-General in Beijing, he was not highly regarded for the Politburo. Cai spent the beginning of his career in Fujian, a coastal province in the east of the country. Afterwards, he moved to Zhejiang, where Xi was governor.
Advocate of the Covid Zero policy, he was responsible for overseeing the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Ding Xuexiang, 60
A mechanical engineer, he began his career at the Shanghai Materials Research Institute. In 2007, he was Xi’s political secretary in the same province.
A youngest member of the new composition of the Standing Committee, he was chief of the Communist Party’s general cabinet, but he did not serve as a leader in Chinese provinces or as a governor.
Li Xi, 66
A longtime member of Xi’s circle of contacts, Li during the 1980s worked for a veteran of the Chinese CP close to the father of the now Chinese leader. Until now he was general secretary of Guangdong.
There, he was responsible for the development of the Greater Bay Area, Xi’s master plan to expand the economy of nine Chinese cities and territories, including Hong Kong and Macau.
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