[Epoch Times, October 23, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan comprehensive report) The new Politburo Standing Committee members of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China appeared in Beijing on Sunday (October 22), with Xi Jinping and Li Qiang appearing respectively. , Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi. Hu Chunhua, the remaining member of the regiment, was unable to enter the Standing Committee.
Bloomberg reported that Xi Jinping is officially entering a third term surrounded by allies after key Communist Party officials with no close ties to the party leaders quit the top leadership.
CNN presumes that the second person to play after Xi Jinping, the secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, will be appointed as the next premier. This is seen as the latest proof that in the current political landscape of the CCP, loyalty and affinity for Xi Jinping trumps all other factors in the promotion of officials. Reuters also presume Li Qiang will be the prime minister.
Li Qiang previously worked closely with Xi Jinping in Zhejiang Province.
The CNN report also said that key heavyweights who were not part of Xi Jinping’s inner circle are about to retire — Xi Jinping has largely lost his rivals as chairman of the Standing Committee, altering the party’s top-level power-sharing structure for decades.
“In terms of policymaking, it does mean that there may be more respect for Xi Jinping’s own views on how to move the country and the economy forward,” said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Singapore, according to Reuters.
“I can imagine that the zero policy could be more entrenched and further push issues like shared prosperity,” he said.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China concluded in Beijing on Saturday (October 22), and the list of the new Central Committee has revealed the general direction of Sunday’s Standing Committee, including Premier Li Keqiang, CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang and other four current Politburo members Standing Committee resigns.
The No. 2 figure in the Politburo, Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, and Wang Yang, who was once rumored to be a favorite to be the next prime minister, did not join the Central Committee, which means that both will quit the Politburo Standing Committee.
The curtain call of Li Keqiang and Wang Yang was unexpected, because their age did not exceed the unwritten party rule of “seven ups and eights” (remain at 67 and leave at 68) since the 16th National Congress in 2002. Bloomberg reported that Li Keqiang and Wang Yang were the first standing committee members to retire early since 1992.
Wang Huning, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee at the same age, entered the new Central Committee and is expected to remain on the Politburo Standing Committee. Wang Huning started his career in Shanghai and has written articles for the policy lines of the three general secretaries Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. The current Politburo Standing Committee member Zhao Leji (65 years old) also entered the new Central Committee.
The other two members of the Politburo Standing Committee to step down are Li Zhanshu, 72, chairman of the National People’s Congress, and Han Zheng, 68, executive vice-premier of the State Council.
Bloomberg said the four vacancies on the standing committee represent the culmination of Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power since he was promoted to top leader in 2012. It also means that he has broken the unwritten age rules in the party of the past, ensuring that CCP politics will center on him for the foreseeable future.
According to the list released by the party media Xinhua News Agency, nearly two-thirds of the 205 central committee members, including regular members and alternate members, were replaced, the largest number of replacements in 25 years.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, 69, and General Zhang Youxia, 72, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, also remain on the Central Committee, although they are older than 68.
Neil Thomas, a China analyst at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting and advisory firm, told Bloomberg that keeping other officials over 68 would reduce some scrutiny of Xi Jinping’s decision to stay in power, choosing Wang. Yi and Zhang Youxia, in particular, indicated “the importance of these positions to Xi Jinping” as he prepares to compete strategically with the United States.
Bloomberg said officials closely related to Hu Jintao were basically removed from the next Politburo, with the exception of Vice Premier Hu Chunhua. A video of Hu Jintao being abruptly dismissed at halftime at the closing ceremony on Saturday sparked debate in foreign media, but there was little news on China’s heavily censored internet.
Wang Yang’s departure made Hu Chunhua the only member of the Central Committee with experience as a deputy prime minister, a prerequisite for almost every prime minister. And Hu Chunhua, who has no close contact with Xi Jinping, failed to become a permanent member, indicating that there are no League officials in the new Standing Committee.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan