Then newly elected vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Xu Qiliang (foreground) and Zhang Youxia (third left) with CMC members (from left) Zhang Shengmin, Li Zuocheng, Wei Fenghe and Miao Hua swear an oath on the constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE South China Morning Post
Poised to take a groundbreaking third term in power, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has advanced a contingent of Communist Party loyalists ready to defend him, expand state influence over the economy and bolster national security. Mr. Xi opened the new phase of his authoritarian rule with a clutch of victories at the end of a party congress on Saturday. He hurried into retirement two top officials from a more moderate political mold. He positioned allies to dominate the new leadership. He kept officials who have promoted his muscular approach in…
This means they will go into full retirement. 02:03 China’s 20th party congress concludes with bigger than expected leadership reshuffle The Central Committee, with around 200 full members, reports to the 25-member Politburo, which is headed by the Politburo Standing Committee. Making the list is essential for any important state or government position. Advertisement The reshuffle is bigger than expected. Both Li Keqiang and Wang Yang are one year short of the customary retirement age of 68 and would have stayed, according to tradition. But as Xi, firmly established as…
The Chinese president, XI Jinping, has cemented his grip over the Communist party by passing an amendment that will enshrine his ideas and status in the party’s constitution. The move by Xi elevates his status in the party which is expected to hand him a mandate for a precedent-breaking third term as president. He closed the congress with a call to the people of China to remain confident in their ‘history, exhibit greater historical initiative, and have the courage to fight and the mettle to win’. During the congress, former…
A longer edit of the footage taken on Saturday shows Xi Jinping turning to the former party chairman and also, to Mr Hu’s left, senior figures Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning appearing concerned. Mr Li even moved to help him at one point, but was pulled back by Mr Wang, as if to say, “Don’t get involved in this.” BBC
As China’s leader, Xi Jinping, laid out his priorities this week for a breakthrough third term in power, officials parsed his words for signs of where the country was headed. What he did not say was as revealing. The omission of two phrases from his key report to a Communist Party congress exposed his anxieties about an increasingly volatile world where Washington is contesting China’s ascent as an authoritarian superpower. For two decades, successive Chinese leaders have declared at the congress that the country was in a “period of important…
Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of Saturday’s closing ceremony of the Communist party congress, AFP journalists on the scene witnessed. The frail-looking Hu, 79, initially seemed reluctant to leave the front row of politburo standing committee members in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, where he was sitting next to President Xi Jinping. He had brief exchanges with Xi and the premier, Li Keqiang, after stewards spoke with him. A steward, holding Hu’s arm, led the former president out. Hu patted Li’s shoulder as he left.…