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The most powerful after Mao Zedong: Why can President Xi remain in power for "lifetime"?

2022-10-15 22:47:39Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA AFP
The most powerful after Mao Zedong: Why can President Xi remain in power for
Chinese President Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to get a historic third term as the country's leader at the 20th Communist Party Congress, which begins on Sunday.

If all goes according to plan, the 69-year-old leader will be confirmed as the party's general secretary by the end of the congress, which is held once every five years, and will consolidate his position as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.

Nearly 2,300 delegates from all Chinese provinces will gather on Sunday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, around which security measures have been greatly increased.

The congress will be held under strict health measures, as Xi continues to insist on implementing a zero-tolerance policy on the coronavirus.

At the congress, which will take place mostly behind closed doors, participants will elect about 200 members of the party's Central Committee, which will then elect 25 members of the Politburo and the all-powerful Standing Committee, the most powerful body. top management in the country.

"China will not close its doors to the world"

"However, everything has been agreed in advance, because the congress is not held until all the factions have agreed", said Sinologist Jean-Philip Beja.

Critics point out that Xi has eliminated all potential political rivals in recent years, particularly through his long fight against corruption.

In his speech on the first day of the congress, Xi will give his assessment of the past term and outline the path for the party and the country for the next five years.

At the 2017 congress, he promised a new era of socialism with a Chinese face and said Beijing would cooperate with the world.

"Openness brings progress and isolation brings backwardness," he said. “China will not close its doors to the world; we will open more and more". But five years later, China is doing the opposite.

Zero tolerance rate for COVID-19

While the rest of the world is gradually returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles, Beijing is strictly enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on COVID-19, with travel restrictions, mandatory quarantines and repeated lockdowns.

This strategy is causing great problems for citizens and has scared the business community as well, because economic growth has stalled.

"China's zero-tolerance policy on COVID-19 is discouraging much-needed investment. Young Chinese suffer the most economically and socially," said Yu Jie of the Chatham House think tank, responsible for the Asia-Pacific program.

China's relations with the US have also deteriorated over the past five years, with Xi's foreign policy raising concerns from India to Australia and Canada.

"New elections, a bad sign for human rights"

Western countries are reacting negatively to increasingly aggressive rhetoric against Taiwan, which Beijing considers its territory and claims it has the right to occupy it by force if necessary. They also accuse China of widespread human rights violations, particularly in the western region of Xinjiang.

"President Xi's third term is a bad sign for human rights in China and the world," said Yaqiu Wang, senior China expert at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The Chinese Communist Party has 96.7 million members and is one of the largest political organizations in the world, but the way it operates is largely non-transparent.

Observers can only speculate about the future composition of the Standing Committee.

Until now, Politburo members stepped down after two terms, but as Xi reversed that policy in his third term, it could affect others.

The choice of people to surround Xi will be crucial, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

Maybe a lifetime term

"I think Xi will be careful to send a clear message that no one appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee will be the successor at the 21st Congress," he said.

The composition of the Political Bureau will be announced the day after the end of the meeting.

If, as expected, Xi remains general secretary, he will be confirmed as president for another term at the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress in March next year.

Although the 20th Party Congress will only guarantee another five-year term, many think Xi will stay in power much longer.

"But given the promotion of 'Xi Jiping's thoughts' (ie, his policies), the renewal of the cult of personality and the importance of his power at the heart of the party leadership, this suggests that this is someone who will remain in power for a long time, maybe for life," said political scientist Jean-Pierre Cabestan.


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