President Jinping All Set For A Third Term As The 20th National Congress Wraps Up

The political paperwork for President Xi Jinping is almost done. 

Coming close to wrapping up the 20th National Congress, close to 2,300 delegates from the Communist Party of China voted for the nation’s policy map for the next five years.

The delegates, a day before the Congress ends, elected a new central committee of 205 members with voting rights and another 171 alternate members, as reported by Asia Nikkei. 

Jinping’s name in the list of the 205 members confirms what has been a public secret for a few years now, that he will be coming back for a third, or as some predict, a lifetime term.

His second-in-command, who many believed would get a second term, is retiring, given his age. The retirement of Premier Li Keqiang will alter the power structure within the CCP. 

The shift in the power structure will be visible on the final day (22 October) of the Congress when the new Central Committee meets, behind closed doors, to vote for the Politburo, comprising of two dozen members, and also the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the apex of China’s political and power structure.

Jinping, as the general secretary of the CCP, will lead the PSC. 

Observers are expecting the Politburo and the PSC to comprise of Jinping’s loyalists who would ensure no infighting and conflicts, as witnessed during the previous regimes.

Alongside, the CCP will adopt changes to the party’s constitution on the final day, indicating the rise in Jinping’s stature, coming close to that of Mao Zedong. 

However, challenges continue to mount for Jinping as a slowing domestic economy marred by the real estate crisis, dented retail sales and exports, and Covid-zero lockdowns braces for a global recession in 2023.

The question of Taiwan and the ongoing trade war against the United States, especially on semiconductors, will test Jinping’s resolve. 

Speaking before over 2,300 party members on the opening day of the Congress, earlier this week, Jinping hailed the crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021 while bringing back attention to the question of Taiwan.

Jinping vowed not to renounce the use of force when it came to Taiwan. 

A not-so-subtle message was also reserved for the United States when Jinping affirmed that China would combat protectionism and bullying by other nations, hinting at reunification, political or otherwise. 

Also Read: Five Key Challenges For President Jinping In His Third Term