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In the report, Xi Jinping also proposed a new formulation of “Chinese-style modernization” and explained it.
At 10:00 a.m. on October 16, the opening ceremony of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, reported on behalf of the 19th Central Committee, summarizing the achievements of the past five years and expounding the future line.
Xi Jinping said that in the fight against the new crown epidemic, China “adheres to the supremacy of the people and life, adheres to the dynamic clearing and unswerving”, and “protects the safety and health of the people to the greatest extent.” He also highlighted China’s achievements in poverty alleviation, defense and diplomacy, and called the fight against corruption “an overwhelming victory”.
In the report, Xi Jinping also proposed a new formulation of “Chinese-style modernization” and explained it.
More than 2,300 delegates and non-party attendees gathered in the Great Hall of the People, where a huge red slogan “Long live the great, glorious and correct Chinese Communist Party” was hung.
When Xi Jinping was speaking, almost all the delegates in the venue wore masks to listen to the report, while the members of the Standing Committee of the Presidium sitting in the first row of the party congress did not wear masks.
image source,Reuters
When Xi Jinping was speaking, almost all the delegates in the venue wore masks to listen to the report, while the members of the Standing Committee of the Presidium sitting in the first row of the party congress did not wear masks.
Xi Jinping’s report lasted about 1 hour and 50 minutes, which was greatly shortened compared to the more than three-hour report of the “19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China”.
However, after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the length of reports for large-scale meetings of the Chinese government has been shortened. For example, Li Keqiang’s work report at the two sessions is only about an hour, which is significantly shorter than previous years. However, the longer full version was sent to delegates after the meeting.
The situation is similar this time. The text version of the report obtained by the reporter after the meeting is 72 pages, which should be longer than the full version of the “oral version”.
agenda
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It is expected that this conference will allow Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to remain in office and enter a historic third term, becoming the top leader of the Communist Party of China with the longest tenure since Mao Zedong.
The conference lasts for one week, and the agenda includes five items:
- Hearing and examining the report of the 19th Central Committee;
- Review the work report of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection;
- Reviewed and approved the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment);
- Election of the 20th Central Committee;
- Election of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Sunday (October 16) is the first agenda item. After the congress closes on the morning of October 22, it is expected that the first plenary meeting of the 20th Central Committee (referred to as the “First Plenary Session”) will be held, and 25 members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and 7 members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee will be elected. and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.
It is expected that this conference will allow Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to remain in office and enter a historic third term, becoming the top leader of the Communist Party of China with the longest tenure since Mao Zedong.
On Sunday morning, some Chinese and foreign media reporters were allowed to enter the second floor of the Great Hall of the People to film meetings, but they needed to stay in a designated hotel for one night in advance for isolation and nucleic acid testing.
Who is present?
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Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, sat next to Xi’s left at the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, but he has gray hair since he attended the 19th Party Congress five years ago.
After the opening ceremony, the members of the Standing Committee of the Presidium of the “20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” who were seated in the first row of the Presidium entered the venue. Xi Jinping was the first to enter, followed by his predecessor Hu Jintao, who sat next to Xi’s left, but his hair was gray compared to when he attended the 19th National Congress five years ago.
Another CCP veteran, Jiang Zemin, did not attend the opening ceremony. At the opening of the “19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” in 2017, Jiang Zemin followed Xi Jinping in, but needed the support of two staff members; on October 1, 2019, Jiang Zeming attended the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which was his last public event.
However, the 96-year-old Jiang Zemin still appeared on the 46-member list of the Standing Committee of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Like Jiang Zemin, former Premier Zhu Rongji and current Vice President Wang Qishan were among those who did not attend. The latter may be absent because he had just returned from a visit to Kazakhstan on October 13 and needed to be quarantined.
image source,Reuters
Song Ping, a 105-year-old party veteran, sat next to China’s former premier Wen Jiabao, former vice premier Zhang Dejiang and former vice chairman Zeng Qinghong.
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Zhang Gaoli, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also sat in the first row of the rostrum (second from left in the front row).
Two other notable figures sitting in the first row of the podium are:
- At 105 years old, Song Ping is the oldest living “party and state leader” in China. He served as Zhou Enlai’s political secretary during the Anti-Japanese War. He became a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo and was promoted to the “Zhengguo level”, but he retired after three years.
- Zhang Gaoli, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, became a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and served as vice premier; he retired at the 19th National Congress in 2017. However, on November 2, 2021, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai posted on Weibo that he had had a sexual relationship with Zhang Gaoli, a retired member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of China, causing a public outcry.
What are the highlights?
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Xi Jinping pulled the time scale for summarizing the past to ten years, that is, since he became the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, he mentioned in the report that in the past ten years, “we have experienced three years of great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance to the cause of the party and the people. big event”:
- The first is to usher in the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China,
- Second, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.
- The third is to complete the historical task of poverty alleviation and building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, and achieve the first centenary goal.
existinternational relationsCompared with previous sessions, this year’s increase of the formulation is, “Always decide your own position and policy according to the merits of the matter itself, and maintain the basic norms of international relations.” This formulation is a formulation gradually formed by China after Russia invaded Ukraine. It appears repeatedly at the official level. The outside world interprets it as China trying to find a middle point and a balance between Russia and the West, so as to avoid being seen as biased towards Russia.
Hong Kong questionIt is regarded as one of the major achievements in the past five years, and the length of the report is significantly more than that of the previous report. Xi Jinping said that in the face of turbulent changes in the situation in Hong Kong, we have effectively exercised the power of comprehensive governance over the Special Administrative Region in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, and implemented the principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong”, and the situation in Hong Kong has achieved a major transition from chaos to governance.
Taiwan questionThe wording above has also changed. The report of the 19th National Congress did not mention the word “force”, but only mentioned “defeating” Taiwan’s independence, as well as the “1992 Consensus” and “cross-strait one family.” But in Sunday’s report, the wording changed dramatically – “The resolution of the Taiwan issue is the Chinese people’s own business, and it is up to the Chinese people to decide. We insist on the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and best efforts, but never promise. Abandoning the use of force and retaining the option of taking all necessary measures is aimed at the interference of external forces and the very few “Taiwan independence” separatists and their separatist activities, and is definitely not aimed at the majority of Taiwan compatriots.”
On the economic frontXi Jinping did not mention “housing is not for speculation” in the report; compared to the report five years ago, when he said in the report that he insisted on the positioning of “houses are for living, not for speculation”, and received warm applause.
In the past two years, China’s property market has been under continuous pressure, facing the problem of a large number of housing companies breaking the capital chain and the crisis brought about by the “borrowing tide”. In the face of the continued economic downturn this year, many places have begun to loosen some restrictions in order to promote the recovery of the property market.
Regarding the real estate market on Sunday, Xi Jinping said in a report, “When deploying the next stage of housing work, we only said that we should speed up the establishment of a housing system with multi-subject supply, multi-channel security, and both renting and purchasing.”
“Chinese Modernization”
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An armed policeman stands guard in Tiananmen Square before the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on October 16.
Sunday’s report reiterated that the strategic arrangement proposed by the 19th National Congress is a two-step process:
- Basically realize socialist modernization from 2020 to 2035;
- From 2035 to the middle of this century, my country will be built into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful.
He further stated that from now on, “the central task of the Communist Party of China is to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization.”
It is worth noting that “Chinese-style modernization” is a brand-new political language that has not appeared in previous reports of party congresses.
According to incomplete statistics, at the seminar held by leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level in July this year on “Learning the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech and welcoming the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China”, Xi Jinping proposed for the first time that “we must adhere to the Chinese style of modernization.” Promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, the word has since entered the official context of the CCP.
In his report on Sunday, he further stated, “Chinese-style modernization is socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It has both the common characteristics of modernization of all countries and Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. Chinese-style modernization is a huge population scale. Modernization is a modernization in which all the people are prosperous together, a modernization in which material civilization and spiritual civilization are coordinated, a modernization in which man and nature coexist in harmony, and a modernization in which the path of peaceful development is taken.”