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Chinese President Xi Jinping looks to fresh faces to confront new term of ‘unparalleled complexity’
- Four younger leaders have been promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee but there are no obvious successors among them
- Choices for Communist Party’s top decision-makers point to preference for experience in science, technology and security
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Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping promoted four rising stars – Li Qiang, Li Xi, Ding Xuexiang and Cai Qi – to the country’s highest decision-making body, laying the foundation for his record-breaking third term and beyond.
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Together with veterans Wang Huning and Zhao Leji, the seven will form the new Politburo Standing Committee.
The combination of experienced and fresh faces will support the president and his policies for the next five years, a period Xi described as of “unparalleled complexity”.
While the four newly elevated leaders are young and have Xi’s trust, none of them stands out as an obvious successor to the president, a status determined not only by age but by a number of factors, including experience and internal recognition.
This could mean Xi may get a fourth term at the next national party congress in 2027, various experts told the Post.
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According to state news agency Xinhua, the new hierarchy of the Politburo is Xi Jinping, 69; Li Qiang, 63; Zhao Leji, 65; Wang Huning, 67; Cai Qi, 66; Ding Xuexiang, 60; and Li Xi, 66.
This means Li Qiang is set to become China’s next premier, as the South China Morning Post reported earlier.
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