Chinese President Xi Jinping did what everyone expected. He extended his reign as the country’s leader for an unprecedented third term, while selling more of his allies into leadership positions and pushing his rivals into retirement.
Xi, 69, was re-elected Communist Party general secretary on Sunday following China’s national congress that opened a week ago, confirming his prestige as the country’s toughest leader since Mao Zedong. His appointment means he will be firmly the world’s second leader. largest economy for at least five years at a time when it is increasingly on a collision course with the United States.
On Sunday, Xi said the country will “do more to realize the Chinese dream of a rejuvenated country,” a term that largely means transforming the country into a global force with superior living standards and complex technologies comparable to those of the West.
He made the comments after introducing the new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the country’s top tough decision-making body, in a room full of determined journalists in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
It’s a party that shows Xi has surrounded himself with allies by selling out close affiliates like Beijing’s most sensible party official, Cai Qi, and Guangdong provincial party leader Li Xi, to the Politburo.
The rise of Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang is remarkable and speaks volumes about Xi’s consolidation of power. Li, who has never held a high-level position in the central government, gave the impression right next to Xi before the leader spoke to reporters in Sunday. Li is best known for overseeing the fatal month-long blockade in Shanghai earlier this year, prompting widespread public anger and raising questions about whether he could still win a coveted promotion.
Xi Jinping heads the Politburo Standing Committee at a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 23, 2022.
Observers say Xi values loyalty above all else and is willing to break with the political norms of the past. For example, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s call did not appear on the 205-member central committee, a prerequisite for joining the Politburo, even though he is still one year away from the same retirement age.
Li, 67, is known for infrequently expressing views on the economy that contradict Xi’s. And in a rare display of drama at an event highly choreographed in a different way, Hu Jintao, Xi’s 79-year-old predecessor, was escorted out of the room. Final consultation of yesterday’s party congress.
Although Hu seemed reluctant to leave, the official Xinhua news agency later reported via Twitter that Hu had left for health reasons and feel much better after resting. But the event doesn’t appear on the highly censored web in China, with Hu Jintao’s search on the country’s Twitter equivalent, Sina Weibo, not to mention his sudden departure.
However, Xi reassured market watchers. He said Sunday that China will continue to open up and resolutely deepen reforms. The country’s economy has shown perseverance and wonderful potential, and its solid foundations will “change. “
Xi’s consolidation of strength comes at a time when China faces myriad difficulties. This week, Beijing delayed the release of the country’s third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data, raising investor anxiety about an economy that has been battered by a growing housing crisis and Xi’s relentless policies backing Covid. Broad closures, food shortages and lack of medical care.
Shen Meng, managing director of Beijing-based Chanson investment
“Most likely, China will continue to suppress the disorderly expansion of the personal sector economy, and state economic powers will be strengthened,” he said, adding that this means personal corporations would take a back seat to state-owned enterprises.
And it is very likely that the repression of the real estate sector will continue. Xi did not mention his slogan “housing is made for living, not speculating” in his opening speech, which rekindled hope among some that real suffering in the real estate sector could be near. Xi launched his crusade for more affordable housing in 2017, prompting a wave of policies aimed at curbing rising housing costs and reducing excessive borrowing that had become common among Chinese asset developers. But a transcript of the proceedings later repeated the housing slogan, indicating that there will be no respite in cooling measures for the foreseeable future.
China’s real estate market is estimated to account for up to a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. The housing crisis combined with Covid Zero is expected to propel China’s GDP expansion in 2022 to just 3. 2%, well below Xi’s previous target of around 5. 5%.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) and new members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (L-3rd L and 3rd R-R) Li Xi, Cai Qi, Zhao Leji, Li Qiang, Wang Huning and Ding Xuexiang meet with the media at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 23, 2022.