Advertisement
Opinion | What the 20th party congress reveals about China’s leadership, strategy and attitude to conflict
- It is unsurprising that Xi Jinping chose loyalists to surround him in the Politburo Standing Committee, but the elevation of ideology tsar Wang Huning bears watching
- In terms of strategy, it is clear national security will continue to take precedence over economic growth, especially with regard to conflict with the US
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
12
China’s 20th party congress has come and gone. Despite all the fanfare and media hype, it was a hollow event. It revealed little we didn’t already know about China – an autocracy that maintains grandiose ambitions and ideological bluster to match but is woefully unprepared for an uncertain future filled with risks largely of its own making.
Advertisement
That much is evident when the results of the congress are examined from three perspectives: leadership, strategy and conflict.
The leadership reveal of the so-called first plenum – the formal meeting of the Party’s 205-member Central Committee that immediately follows the conclusion of the congress – was in line with the power consolidation that has been under way since President Xi Jinping was first appointed general secretary 10 years ago.
Confirmation of Xi’s third five-year term as leader of the Communist Party of China was never in doubt. Neither was his selection of loyalists to surround him at the top in the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.
There will be some jockeying for positions such as premier and the chairs of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress, but the outcomes matter little. In Xi’s China, these positions, once central to the model of consensus leadership that Deng Xiaoping wisely put in place following the death of Mao Zedong, have been marginalised.
02:03
China’s 20th party congress concludes with bigger than expected leadership reshuffle
China’s 20th party congress concludes with bigger than expected leadership reshuffle
Xi seems to have a preference for premiers with the surname Li. Li Qiang, the Shanghai party chief and the public face of China’s draconian zero-Covid lockdowns, is the strong favourite to replace the retiring incumbent, Li Keqiang.
Advertisement