Since Xi coordinated the elimination of term limits through a constitutional amendment five years ago, the likelihood of his serving a third term as president was a sure shot.
Much of Xi’s power derives from his roles as head of the Communist Party and chief of the armed forces, deeming the President essentially ceremonial in China. Yet, his reinstatement completes a spectacular power grab that has been gaining momentum and emphasizes Xi’s supremacy over the Chinese political system.
The unchallengeable legacy of Xi Jinping
Despite his father’s prominence as a revolutionary leader, Mr. Xi was mostly unknown a decade ago. His ancestry aided him in gaining the support of party elders, which was essential for ascending the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as senior leaders frequently continued to exert political sway after retirement. “Before his elevation, Xi Jinping was regarded as someone who could compromise with everyone,” said Joseph Fewsmith, an expert in Chinese elite politics at Boston University. But, after ten years, Mr. Xi’s authority and influence appear to be uncontested.
YOU CAN ALSO READ: HOW BANGLADESH, INDIA ARE FARING AMID SOUTH ASIA’S POLITICAL, ECONOMIC WOES
China’s constitution was amended in 2018 to include “Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” Mr. Xi’s legacy was solidified by having an ideology named after him.
XI Jinping 3.0
The nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress unanimously re-elected Xi as president for a third term. It is widely believed that Xi will keep the presidency pretty much forever. Jinping faced no opposition throughout the election. The voting lasted over an hour, while the electronic count was completed in around 15 minutes.
The leader of China has reorganised the Communist Party to put himself at its centre, and now no one can really challenge him. Taking the oath of office with his right fist raised, Xi vowed to be loyal to the constitution and “motherland” and to “work hard to build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist country.”
A perfect party lineup by Xi?
Nothing surpasses Xi Jinping, who has now arranged the party to his liking. Xi is placing a slate of loyalists in important positions as part of the largest government overhaul in a decade, as a generation of reform-minded bureaucrats retires and Xi consolidates his power further after being elected president for an unprecedented third term on Friday. Moreover, the Chinese Parliament elected Zhao Leji as the new parliament chairman and Han Zheng as the new vice president. Leji and Zheng are both members of Xi’s former team of party leaders on the Politburo Standing Committee. In the next days, Xi-approved officials will be appointed or elected to the cabinet’s top positions.
Li Qiang, former Communist Party chief of China’s most populous city of Shanghai, has replaced Li Keqiang as premier. The 63-year-old earned nearly every vote from the more over 2,900 National People’s Congress delegates.
Now he is the premier, in command of the world’s second-largest economy and, theoretically, second in the hierarchy of power only to Mr. Xi. As a pragmatist and close supporter of Mr. Xi, he will be tasked with rebuilding China’s faltering economy. As party chief of Shanghai, he oversaw last year’s devastating two-month lockdown of China’s financial centre.
Many were therefore astonished when he was elevated to the number two position inside the Communist Party. Food shortages were severe, and the lockdown was poorly managed. Observers have questioned how the individual responsible for this catastrophic logistical failure could be given the responsibility of administering the entire nation. His past, though, offers a different picture. In the past, several members of the business community viewed him as an innovator who could circumvent Party rigidity.
Focus on technology
The new lineup also shows the CCP’s aim to transform China into an economically and militarily competitive technological giant. Six of the new Politburo members, or a quarter of the group, are experts in fields like aerospace, engineering, and public health. They didn’t rise through China’s political ranks the traditional way and didn’t have much political experience before Mr. Xi chose them to lead provinces earlier in his presidency.
A reign till death?
According to analysts, Xi’s increased powers will make his presidency comparable only to that of Chairman Mao Zedong, who ruled for over three decades, and Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw China’s economic opening as paramount leader for around 20 years until his death in 1997.
With his coronation this week, Xi will rule China for the longest period of time by a contemporary Chinese leader, likely into his 70s and beyond provided no serious opposition arises and he maintains his health. However, it appears that Xi’s only risk is that his reputation has suffered among certain segments of the people. Zero-Covid, the abrupt abandonment of zero-Covid in response to widespread protests, the property crisis, high youth unemployment, the technological crackdown, and the enormous damage to the service industry have all harmed his standing.
Yet, it seems that Mr. Xi is handling the situation well. He has not vanished from public view for an extended period, as he did in 2020 to avoid the repercussions of the original cover-up of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is quite unlikely that Mr. Xi will face a significant challenge from within the party due to the dominance of his factions in key leadership bodies. In addition, the next leadership transition will not occur until late 2027, providing him nearly five years to recover from the effects of these obstacles.
