Chinese President Xi Jinping has emerged as China’s most powerful leader in decades after securing a third term as leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), the country’s most powerful position, after a weeklong party congress session that ended on Sunday.
The session, presided over by Xi, was attended by 203 members of the 20th CPC Central Committee and 168 alternate members.
A day after the close of the five-yearly Communist Party Congress, Xi announced six men – Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi – to stand alongside him as members of the Political Bureau Standing Committee. All of the new members are perceived to have close allegiance to Xi.
During his interaction with journalists, President Xi emphasized the significance of a people-centred governance philosophy. “The Party should always act for the people and rely on the people on the journey ahead,” Xi said, adding the CPC will not be daunted by any sort of challenges for the people will always have its back and give it confidence.
Xi also expressed China’s commitment to improving coordination with the international community with a shared future. “We will work with peoples of all other countries to champion humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom to safeguard global peace and promote global development, and keep promoting the building of a human community with a shared future,” he said.
Xi, who took power in 2012, was awarded a third five-year term as general secretary, abandoning the decade-long cycle set by his predecessor, who served two five-year terms as party chief. Xi could be in a position for a life-long rule, experts say.
Some analysts have described Xi as the most powerful man in China since Mao Zedong.
“We have entered a new era, as Xi now controls almost every aspect concerning policy making and decision making,” according to Chen Gang, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute. “We’re seeing a kind of re-centralized bureaucracy in China, which will definitely impact the future China’s economic and foreign policy trajectory.”