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Tag: Li Keqiang

  • China appoints Li Qiang, a trusted ally of Xi Jinping, as premier | CNN

    China appoints Li Qiang, a trusted ally of Xi Jinping, as premier | CNN

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    China’s rubber-stamp legislature has appointed Li Qiang, a long-time aide of leader Xi Jinping, as premier, the man tasked with reviving the world’s second-largest economy after three years of zero-Covid restrictions.

    The National People’s Congress endorsed Li in a largely ceremonial vote at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday morning. Li got 2,936 votes, with three votes cast against him and eight abstained.

    Li, 63, is one of the most trusted protégés of Xi, the country’s most powerful leader in decades. He will replace outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, who had been Xi’s second in command since 2013.

    Traditionally, the premiership is an influential role in charge of the economy, although over the past decade, its power has been eroded by Xi, who has taken almost all decision-making into his own hands.

    Even so, much of the new premier’s efforts are likely to be concentrated on trying to turn around the fortunes of the Chinese economy, which recently set a GDP growth target for this year of about 5% – the lowest in decades.

    That will be no easy task: China is in the midst of a historic downturn for the all-important housing market, consumer spending is sluggish, and unemployment remains high among the youth. And local governments are saddled by debt.

    Business confidence has plummeted following an unprecedented regulatory crackdown on the private sector and increased uncertainties about China’s future policy. Relations between the United States and China are at their lowest point in decades, leading to escalating tensions in technology and investment. Foreign investment in China has slumped.

    Xi identified Li Qiang, a former Communist Party boss of Shanghai who presided over the city’s chaotic two-month lockdown, as the man to take on these challenges during a leadership reshuffle in October.

    Born in the eastern province of Zhejiang, Li started his career as a worker at an irrigation pumping station. He received his undergraduate education in agricultural mechanization at a college in the city of Ningbo and then worked his way up through the provincial bureaucracy.

    His career took off after he served as Xi’s de facto chief of staff when Xi was the party chief of Zhejiang province between 2002 and 2007.

    Li is the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say.

    It was Li’s personal ties with Xi that appear to have clinched his promotion over more qualified candidates, Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said when Li was promoted last year.

    But some analysts said his tenure in Shanghai, particularly before last year’s Covid lockdown, pointed to a pragmatic, pro-business style.

    During Li’s time there, Tesla built its first gigafactory outside the United States in the city. Tesla has sole ownership of that factory, the first foreign automaker in China to wholly own its plant.

    “China’s business environment should turn more friendly, at least, in the coming two years” under Li, who is likely to support private companies and foreign investors, Citi analysts said in a research report.

    In 2019, Li also oversaw the launch of China’s Nasdaq-style stock market on the Shanghai stock exchange.

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  • CNBC Daily Open: The Nasdaq popped last week. But tech might be in trouble

    CNBC Daily Open: The Nasdaq popped last week. But tech might be in trouble

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    People walk near the Google offices on July 04, 2022 in New York City.

    John Smith | View Press | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    The Nasdaq outpaced other indexes last week. But not all is rosy in tech.

    What you need to know today

    • Bard, Google’s artificial intelligence engine, is “not search,” Jack Krawczyk, the product lead for Bard told Google employees. Bard’s magic, instead, is more a “creative companion.” Employees told CNBC they’re confused by Google’s sudden pivot.
    • PRO This week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak about the economy before Senate committees, and the February employment report will come out. Economists expect one of those to be a major market mover; the other, not so much.

    The bottom line

    Helped by Fed official Raphael Bostic’s dovish comments and a retreat in Treasury yields, U.S. stocks managed to shrug off their pessimism and rallied to end the week in the green.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.17%, giving it a 1.75% weekly gain that broke its four-week losing streak. The S&P 500 gained 1.61%, a 1.9% weekly increase on the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.97%, ending the week 2.58% higher. That makes two straight months that the Nasdaq has outpaced the other indexes.

    Not that all is rosy in the tech industry. Amazon stopped building “HQ2.” Meanwhile, Meta’s throwing more money at its loss-incurring Reality Labs segment. The firm slashed the cost of its virtual reality headsets — by up to $500 on its higher-end Meta Quest Pro — in an attempt, perhaps, to boost sales.

    Not all is well in the much-vaunted realm of the artificial intelligence chatbots, either. Google abruptly pivoted from its search-first strategy to position Bard as more of a companion to “explore your curiosity,” Krawcyzk told employees, which left them scratching their heads.

    Maybe it’s just really hard to integrate unpredictable AI chatbots with something as fact-based as web search. Recall the fiasco surrounding Microsoft’s AI chatbot Bing, which threatened users and professed its love to them. (To Bing’s credit, that’s remarkably human behavior.)

    Despite the Nasdaq’s stellar showing so far this year, then, it remains to be seen if the promises of tech match reality — and translate into further gains for the index. Companies should be careful not to dither too long: In today’s high interest rate environment, investors don’t have as much patience as they did a few years ago.

    Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

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  • G20 host Indonesia lobbies West to soften Russia criticism in communiqué

    G20 host Indonesia lobbies West to soften Russia criticism in communiqué

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    BALI, Indonesia — Senior Indonesian politicians are calling on Western leaders to make concessions on how far to go in criticizing Russia over the war in Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to avoid leaving the G20 summit later this week without a joint declaration, three diplomats with knowledge of the ongoing negotiations told POLITICO.

    According to these diplomats, U.S., European, Australian, Canadian and Japanese officials are among those under pressure from Indonesian counterparts, all the way up to President Joko Widodo, to show “flexibility” and consider using less tough rhetoric in order for Moscow — represented at the Bali summit by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — to say yes to a communiqué at the end of the gathering.

    Widodo “considers it a personal success” if a G20 declaration could be reached, one of the officials said, adding that the Indonesian leader has lamented repeatedly that he is chairing the “most difficult” G20 summit ever.

    He is also seeking to avoid kicking Russia out and making it the G19, which the G8 did in the wake of Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.

    One possibility would be to focus squarely on the aspect of “upholding international law.” If adopted, that would be much more coded wording than what’s been used by the G7, which has repeatedly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

    The latest G7 statement, following this month’s meeting of foreign ministers from the group, criticized Moscow for “its war of aggression against Ukraine” and called for Russia to withdraw. “We condemn Russia’s recent escalation, including its attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” it said. The G7 countries also blasted “Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” according to the Nov. 4 statement.

    “Obviously we can’t be as tough as we do it in G7 when you need the Russians, Chinese and Saudis to agree,” a Western diplomat said, referring to the larger G20 grouping. “The question is how much we need to delete.”

    China, Saudi Arabia, India and Brazil, four of the fellow G20 countries, are described as “sitting on the fence” over the issue.

    Beijing, in particular, would find it impossible to accept any direct criticism of Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will be attending the G20 summit personally, has so far only made an effort to show disapproval of any threats of using nuclear weapons, without attributing such threats to Moscow.

    Another issue for Widodo is the likely lack of a family photo for the two-day summit that starts on Tuesday. According to convention, all the G20 leaders would line up and take a group picture to show solidarity. This time, however, Western leaders have hesitation about being in the same frame as Lavrov, a key aide to Putin, whom U.S. President Joe Biden has called a “killer.”

    Widodo is described as “interested” in assessing fellow leaders’ opinions on having such a family photo.

    Much of his lobbying has taken place in Cambodia, where he’s attending the East Asia Summit. Also in Cambodia were Biden, European Council President Charles Michel, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Australia’s Anthony Albanese. Russia’s Lavrov and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang were also in Phnom Penh.

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo has urged Western countries for more “flexibility” | Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images

    Speaking in Cambodia, Albanese confirmed to reporters that officials are still negotiating over the wording a G20 final communiqué.

    “You know the way that these conferences work. We’ve just got through an East Asia Summit, an ASEAN meeting and a range of other summits. So we’re waiting to see what happens, but I go into the G20 with a great deal of confidence,” Albanese said.

    Lavrov criticized Washington for stirring up confrontation in Asia. “There is a clear trend on militarization of the region through coordination of efforts of local U.S. allies such Australia, New Zealand, Japan with NATO enlargement,” he said.

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    Stuart Lau

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  • Germany’s Scholz in China amid trade, Ukraine, rights issues

    Germany’s Scholz in China amid trade, Ukraine, rights issues

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    BEIJING — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Beijing on Friday for a one-day visit that has drawn criticism over China’s tacit support for Russia in its war on Ukraine and lingering controversy over economic and human rights issues.

    The German Embassy confirmed the arrival of Scholz and a business delegation traveling with him. He was scheduled to receive a formal welcome from president and newly reelected head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping, hold a working lunch and then meet with Premier Li Keqiang, who nominally has responsibility over the economy.

    Despite their political disputes, Scholz’s visit reflects the importance of Germany’s trade ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

    In an article for the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Scholz said he was traveling to Beijing “precisely because business as usual is not an option in this situation.”

    “It is clear that if China changes, the way we deal with China must also change,” Scholz said, adding that “we will reduce one-sided dependencies in the spirit of smart diversification.” Scholz also said he would address “difficult issues” such as the rights of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

    Scholz is the first leader from the G7 group of industrialized nations to meet with Xi since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which was first detected in China in 2019. The diplomatically delicate trip comes as Germany and the European Union work on their strategy toward an increasingly assertive and authoritarian Beijing.

    Scholz’s messages will face close scrutiny, particularly at home where some have criticized him for normalizing China’s behavior. While his nearly year-old government has signaled a departure from predecessor Angela Merkel’s firmly trade-first approach, his trip follows domestic discord over a Chinese shipping company’s major investment in a container terminal in Germany’s crucial port of Hamburg.

    With China still imposing tough COVID-19 restrictions, his delegation won’t stay in Beijing overnight.

    Scholz’s visit comes just after Xi was named to a third term as head of the ruling Communist Party and promoted allies who support his vision of tighter control over society and the economy. It is also accompanied by rising tensions over Taiwan and follows a U.N. report that said Chinese human rights violations against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups may amount to “crimes against humanity.”

    German officials say the trip is intended to probe where China is going and what forms of cooperation are possible.

    An official pointed to China’s “particular responsibility” as an ally of Russia to help end the war in Ukraine and press Moscow to tone down its nuclear rhetoric; to concerns over tensions in Taiwan and the broader region; to Germany’s desire for a “level playing field” in economic relations; and to Scholz’s current status as this year’s chair of the Group of Seven industrial powers.

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  • China’s Xi expands powers, promotes allies

    China’s Xi expands powers, promotes allies

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    BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader in decades, increased his dominance Sunday when he was named to another term as head of the ruling Communist Party in a break with tradition and promoted allies who support his vision of tighter control over society and the struggling economy.

    Xi, who took power in 2012, was awarded a third five-year term as general secretary, discarding a custom under which his predecessor left after 10 years. The 69-year-old leader is expected by some to try to stay in power for life.

    The party also named a seven-member Standing Committee, its inner circle of power, dominated by Xi allies after Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader and an advocate of market-style reform and private enterprise, was dropped from the leadership Saturday. That was despite Li being a year younger than the party’s informal retirement age of 68.

    “Power will be even more concentrated in the hands of Xi Jinping,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a Chinese politics expert at Hong Kong Baptist University. The new appointees are “all loyal to Xi,” he said. “There is no counterweight or checks and balances in the system at all.”

    On Saturday, Xi’s predecessor, 79-year-old Hu Jintao, abruptly left a meeting of the party Central Committee with an aide holding his arm. That prompted questions about whether Xi was flexing his powers by expelling other leaders. The official Xinhua News Agency later reported Hu was in poor health and needed to rest.

    Xi and other Standing Committee members — none of them women — appeared for the first time as a group before reporters in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China’s ceremonial legislature in central Beijing.

    The No. 2 leader was Li Qiang, the Shanghai party secretary. That puts Li Qiang, who is no relation to Li Keqiang, in line to become premier, the top economic official. Zhao Leji, already a member, was promoted to No. 3, likely to head the legislature. Those posts are to be assigned when the legislature meets next year.

    Leadership changes were announced as the party wrapped up a twice-a-decade congress that was closely watched for initiatives to reverse an economic slump or changes in a severe “zero-COVID” strategy that has shut down cities and disrupted business. Officials disappointed investors and the Chinese public by announcing no changes.

    The lineup appeared to reflect what some commentators called “Maximum Xi,” valuing loyalty over ability. Some new leaders lack national-level experience as vice premier or Cabinet minister that typically is seen as a requirement for the post.

    Li Qiang’s promotion served as apparent confirmation, as it puts him in line to be premier with no background in national government. Li Qiang is seen as close to Xi after they worked together in Zhejiang province in the southeast in the early 2000s.

    Li Keqiang was sidelined over the past decade by Xi, who put himself in charge of policymaking bodies. Li Keqiang was excluded Saturday from the list of the party’s new 205-member Central Committee, from which the Standing Committee is picked.

    Another departure from the Standing Committee was Wang Yang, a reform advocate suggested by some as a possible premier. Wang, 67, is below retirement age.

    Other new Standing Committee members include Cai Qi, the Beijing party secretary, and Ding Xuexiang, a career party functionary who is regarded as Xi’s “alter ego” or chief of staff. Wang Huning, a former law school dean who is chief of ideology, stayed on the committee. The No. 7 member is Li Xi, the party secretary of Guangdong province in the southeast, the center of China’s export-oriented manufacturing industry.

    The Central Committee has 11 women, or 5% of the total. Its 24-member Politburo, which has had only four female members since the 1990s, has none following the departure of Vice Premier Sun Chunlan.

    Party plans call for creating a prosperous society by mid-century and restoring China to its historic role as a political, economic and cultural leader.

    Those ambitions face challenges from security-related curbs on access to Western technology, an aging workforce, and tensions with Washington, Europe and Asian neighbors over trade, security, human rights and territorial disputes.

    Xi has called for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and a revival of the party’s “original mission” as social, economic and culture leader in a throwback to what he sees as a golden age after it took power in 1949.

    During the congress, Xi called for faster military development, “self-reliance and strength” in technology and defense of China’s interests abroad, which raises the likelihood of further conflict.

    The party has tightened control over entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth, prompting warnings that rolling back market-oriented reforms will weigh on economic growth that sank to 2.2% in the first half of this year — less than half the official 5.5% target.

    “Clearly, it’s a return to a much more state-controlled type of economy,” said Cabestan. “This means, for private business, they will be on an even shorter leash, with party committees everywhere.”

    Under a revived 1950s propaganda slogan, “common prosperity,” Xi is pressing entrepreneurs to help narrow China’s wealth gap by raising wages and paying for rural job creation and other initiatives.

    Xi, in a report to the congress last week, called for “regulating the mechanism of wealth accumulation,” suggesting entrepreneurs might face still more political pressure, but gave no details.

    “I would worry if I were a very wealthy individual in China,” said economist Alicia Garcia Herrero of Natixis.

    In his report, Xi stressed the importance of national security and control over China’s supplies of food, energy and industrial goods. He gave no indication of possible changes in policies that prompted then-President Donald Trump to launch a tariff war with Beijing in 2018 over its technology ambitions.

    The party is trying to nurture Chinese creators of renewable energy, electric car, computer chip, aerospace and other technologies. Its trading partners complain Beijing improperly subsidizes and shields its suppliers from competition.

    Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, has kept punitive tariff hikes on Chinese goods and this month increased restrictions on China’s access to U.S. chip technology.

    The party has tightened control over private sector leaders, including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. Under political pressure, they are diverting billions of dollars into chip development and other party initiatives. Their share prices on foreign exchanges have plunged due to uncertainty about their future.

    The party will “step up its industrial policy” to close the “wide gap” between what Chinese tech suppliers can make and what is needed by smartphone, computer and other manufacturers, said Garcia Herrero and Gary Ng of Natixis in a report.

    Abroad, Chinese efforts to assert leadership will lead to “more tension and difficulty,” because “countries are not just going to follow the Chinese model,” said Steve Tsang, director of the University of London’s China Institute.

    With potential dissenters forced out, “there is nobody in Beijing who can advise Xi Jinping that this is not the way to go,” Tsang said.

    Xi gave no indication Beijing will change its “zero-COVID” strategy despite public frustration with repeated city closures that has boiled over into protests in Shanghai and other areas.

    Xi’s priorities of security and self-sufficiency will “drag on China’s productivity growth,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, Sheana Yue and Mark Williams of Capital Economics in a report. “His determination to stay in power makes a course correction unlikely.”

    The central bank governor, Yi Gang, and bank regulator, Guo Shuqing, also were missing from Saturday’s Central Committee list, indicating they will retire next year, as expected.

    Xi suspended retirement rules to keep Gen. Zhang Youxia, 72, on the Central Committee. That allows Zhang, a veteran of China’s 1979 war with Vietnam, to stay as Xi’s deputy chairman on the commission that controls the party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army.

    The party elite agreed in the 1990s to limit the general secretary to two five-year terms in hopes of avoiding a repeat of power struggles in previous decades. That leader also becomes chairman of the military commission and takes the ceremonial title of president.

    Xi has led an anti-corruption crackdown that snared thousands of officials, including a retired Standing Committee member and deputy Cabinet ministers. That broke up party factions and weakened potential challengers.

    Xi is on track to become the first leader in a generation to pick his own successor but has yet to indicate possible candidates. Hu Jintao and his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, both were picked in the 1980s by then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping.

    Ahead of the congress, banners criticizing Xi and “zero COVID” were hung above a major Beijing thoroughfare in a rare protest. Photos of the event were deleted from social media. The popular WeChat messaging app shut down accounts that forwarded them.

    Xi’s government also faces criticism over mass detentions and other abuses against mostly Muslim ethnic groups and the jailing of government critics.

    ___

    AP video producer Caroline Chen contributed.

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  • China’s Xi Jinping Gets Third Leadership Term In “Most Unforgettable Meet”

    China’s Xi Jinping Gets Third Leadership Term In “Most Unforgettable Meet”

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    The Chinese Communist Party Congress held in Beijing over the past week started out slow but has ended with a bang.

    China President Xi Jinping, as expected, has won a new term as Communist Party secretary at a congress that will be memorable for his display of political power and the dramatic exit of his predecessor Hu Jintao.

    “This is the most unforgettable meet in CCP (Chinese Communist Party) history,” Tweeted Yawei Lu, director of the China Program at The Carter Center. Lu cited the secrecy around the event, “massive revision” of the party charter, party secretary’s Xi Jinping’s third term in the position, and the “humiliating exit” of Xi predecessor Hu Jintao, among other factors.

    Former party leader Hu Jintao, once one of China’s most powerful figures, was stunningly led out of the closing ceremony of the party gathering from his chair next to Xi. (See earlier post here.)

    Besides Xi – who won a new five-year term, the six members selected for the party’s powerful Politburo are Xi allies Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Zhang Leji, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi.

    As Shanghai party secretary, Li Qiang – now seen as the country’s next premier — has been closely associated with unpopular “zero-Covid” policies that disrupted global supply chains in the international business hub this year, harming foreign investors such as Tesla. Incumbent, reform-minded Premier Li Keqiang wasn’t named to the new Politiburo at a time when private sector business leaders are concerned about new income redistribution measures and a government tilt in favor of state-owned enterprises.

    The party meeting came amid geopolitical tension with the U.S. over Taiwan and Beijing’s close ties with Russia, and has been watched by governments, businesses and investors globally for signs of future policy directions in the world’s most populous nation and second-largest economy. Reform to the party charter added opposition to Taiwan independence and support for various existing Xi policies.

    Speaking to the press at a noontime gathering, Xi, 69, fused praise for Marxism with nationalistic themes and reassurance that China’s once high-flying economy will advance anew. The “strong fundamentals will not change,” said Xi, who didn’t take any questions from reporters.

    “China will open its door even wider” to the rest of the word, he pledged.

    The congress until today had been notable for a consistency of policy statements (see related post here). How much personnel and factional changes at the top lead to policy shifts will test that read.

    See related posts:

    Elon Musk Backs China Special Zone For Taiwan That’d Be “More Lenient Than Hong Kong”

    China Policy “Straightjacket” May End After Party Congress, Economist Says

    @rflannerychina

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    Russell Flannery, Forbes Staff

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  • China’s top leaders revealed as Xi Jinping cements grip on power with third term | CNN

    China’s top leaders revealed as Xi Jinping cements grip on power with third term | CNN

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    CNN
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    Chinese leader Xi Jinping has formally stepped into his third term ruling China with an iron grip on power, breaking with recent precedent to secure another five years in power, as he revealed a top leadership body stacked with loyal allies.

    On Sunday, following the close of the Communist Party Congress, seven men – namely Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Li Xi and Ding Xuexiang – were announced as members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top ruling body.

    They now compose the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s most powerful decision-making body, and will sit atop of the party to drive the world’s second-largest economy over the coming half decade.

    The line-up was more stacked with staunch Xi loyalists that some watchers of elite Chinese politics had predicted – making clear that Xi has consolidated his power both in the public eye and in the closed-door meetings where leadership decisions are made.

    Noticeably absent from the line-up was Hu Chunhua, 59, a vice premier outside Xi’s orbit who had previously been touted as a potential successor to Xi and a candidate for the Standing Committee.

    Instead, Xi had filled the four open spots on the seven-member body with Xi long-time allies and proteges, Li Qiang, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, clearing the path for him to rule for a third term with minimal internal resistance – and underlining that affinity to Xi trumps all else in China’s current political landscape.

    “The current situation is something unprecedented … this new line-up is not a product of power sharing or horse trading among different factions, but basically it is the result or consequence from Xi’s authority,” said Chen Gang, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute.

    “For the party’s decision-making, I think that we have entered a really a new era, as Xi now controls almost every aspect concerning policy making and decision making … we’re seeing a kind of re-centralised bureaucracy in China, which will definitely impact the future China’s economic foreign policy trajectory,” he said.

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  • China reaffirms Xi’s dominance, removes No. 2 Li Keqiang

    China reaffirms Xi’s dominance, removes No. 2 Li Keqiang

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    BEIJING — China’s ruling Communist Party reaffirmed President Xi Jinping’s continued dominance in running the nation Saturday, one day ahead of giving him a widely expected third five-year term as leader.

    A party congress effectively removed Premier Li Keqiang from senior leadership. Li, the nation’s No. 2 official, is a proponent of market-oriented reforms, which are in contrast to Xi’s moves to expand state control over the economy.

    The weeklong meeting, as it wrapped up Saturday, also wrote Xi’s major policy initiatives on the economy and the military into the party’s constitution, as well as his push to rebuild and strengthen the party’s position by declaring it absolutely central to China’s development and future.

    Analysts were watching for signs of any weakening of or challenge to Xi’s position, but none was apparent. The removal of Li, while not unexpected, signaled Xi’s continuing tight hold on power in the world’s second-largest economy.

    “The congress calls on all party members to acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the party Central Committee and in the party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought,” said a resolution on the constitution approved at Saturday’s closing session.

    “Xi Jinping Thought” refers to his ideology, which was enshrined in the party charter at the previous congress in 2017.

    In brief closing remarks, Xi said the revision to the constitution “sets out clear requirements for upholding and strengthening the party’s overall leadership.”

    Li was among four of the seven members of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee who were missing from its new 205-member Central Committee, which was formally elected at the closing session.

    That means they won’t be reappointed to the Standing Committee in a leadership shuffle that will be unveiled Sunday. Xi is widely expected to retain the top spot, getting a third term as general secretary.

    The three others who were dropped were Vice Premier Han Zheng, party advisory body head Wang Yang, and Li Zhanshu, a longtime Xi ally and the head of the largely ceremonial legislature.

    Li Keqiang will remain as premier for about six more months until a new slate of government ministers is named.

    If he had stayed on the Standing Committee, it would have indicated some possible pushback within the leadership against Xi, particularly on economic policy. Li had already been largely sidelined, though, as Xi has taken control of most aspects of government.

    The more than 2,300 delegates to the party congress — wearing blue surgical masks under China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy — met in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

    Most media, including all foreign journalists, were not allowed into the first part of the meeting when the voting took place.

    Former Chinese President Hu Jintao, Xi’s predecessor as party leader, was helped off the stage a little more than two hours into the 3.5-hour meeting without explanation.

    Hu, 79, spoke briefly with Xi, whom he had been sitting next to in the front row, before walking off with an assistant holding him by the arm. Jiang Zemin, 96, who was president before Hu, did not appear at this congress.

    As speculation swirled in some Western media about the reason for Hu’s departure, China’s official Xinhua News Agency tweeted late Saturday that he was not feeling well and had been accompanied to a nearby room for a rest.

    Only 11 women were among the 205 people named to the Central Committee, or about 5% of the total. Members of minority groups made up 4%. Those percentages were roughly the same as in the last Central Committee.

    At least one committee member, Wang Junzheng, the Communist Party leader in Tibet, has been sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses.

    Police were stationed along major roads, with bright-red-clad neighborhood watch workers at regular intervals in between, to keep an eye out for any potential disruptions.

    An individual caught authorities by surprise last week by unfurling banners from an overpass in Beijing that called for Xi’s removal and attacked his government’s tough pandemic restrictions.

    A report read by Xi at the opening session of the congress a week ago showed a determination to stay on the current path in the face of domestic and international challenges.

    Xi has emerged during his first decade in power as one of China’s most powerful leaders in modern times, rivaling Mao Zedong, who founded the communist state in 1949 and led the country for a quarter-century.

    A third five-year term as party leader would break an unofficial two-term limit that was instituted to try to prevent the excesses of Mao’s one-person rule, notably the tumultuous 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, under which Xi suffered as a youth.

    Xi has put loyalists in key positions and taken personal charge of policy working groups. In contrast, factions within the party discussed ideas internally under Hu and Jiang, his two immediate predecessors, said Ho-fung Hung, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University.

    “Right now, you don’t really see a lot of internal party debates about these different policies and there is only one voice there,” he said.

    Xi has emphasized the central role of the Communist Party, expanding state control over society as well as the economy. In his remarks, he said the party, which marked its 100th anniversary last year, is still in its prime.

    “The Communist Party of China is once again embarking on a new journey on which it will face new tests,” he said.

    The congress concluded by playing the communist anthem, “The Internationale.”

    ———

    Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

    ———

    The title for Standing Committee member Han Zheng has been corrected to vice premier, not Shanghai party chief, his former position.

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  • Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao unexpectedly led out of room as Party Congress comes to a close | CNN

    Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao unexpectedly led out of room as Party Congress comes to a close | CNN

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    China’s former top leader, Hu Jintao, was unexpectedly led out of Saturday’s closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress, in a moment of drama during what is typically a highly choreographed event.

    Hu, 79, was seated in a prominent position at the front table in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, directly next to his successor, current leader Xi Jinping, when he was approached by a staff member, video of the meeting shows.

    While seated, Hu appeared to talk briefly with the male staff member, while China’s third most senior leader, Li Zhanshu, who was seated to his other side, had his hand on the chair behind Hu’s back.

    Hu then appeared to rise after being lifted up by the staff member, who’d taken the former leader by the arm, while Kong Shaoxun, head of the party’s secretariat came over. Hu spoke with the two men briefly and initially appeared reluctant to leave.

    Hu was then escorted by the two men from his seat, with the staff member holding his arm, as other party members seated behind the main table looked on. The circumstances surrounding Hu’s exit are not clear.

    On his way out, Hu was seen to pause and appeared to say something to Xi and then patted Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder. Both Xi and Li appeared to nod. It was not clear what Xi said in reply.

    At one point, while Hu was still seated, Xi appeared to place his hand over a document that Hu was attempting to reach for preventing him from doing so.

    In another moment, after Hu was standing and apparently remonstrating with the two men before making his exit, Li Zhanshu appeared to try and rise from his seat, but was directed back down by a tug on his suit jacket by fellow Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning, seated next to him.

    Hu, who retired in 2013, has been seen in increasingly frail health in public in recent years.

    Due to the opacity of Chinese elite politics, the party is unlikely to offer a public explanation on Hu’s sudden exit. The dramatic moment has not been reported anywhere in Chinese media, or discussed on Chinese social media, where such conversation is highly-restricted. But it has set off a firestorm of speculation overseas.

    CNN was censored on air in China when reporting on Hu’s exit from the meeting Saturday.

    Hu’s departure came after the Congress’s more than 2,000 delegates had rubber-stamped the new members of the party’s elite Central Committee during a private session, and before delegates were called on to endorse the party’s work report during a session open to journalists.

    The newly announced 205-member Central Committee did not include Li Keqiang and fellow Standing Committee member Wang Yang, who are both considered Hu’s proteges. This means neither will retain their seats in the Standing Committee, the party’s top-decision making body, though both are 67, one year short of the unofficial retirement age. Xi, who is 69, is included in the list of new Central Committee members.

    The line-up of the Standing Committee will be revealed Sunday, one day after the close of the Congress. Xi, who is widely seen to have cemented power by eliminating rivals and dampening the lingering influence of party elders, is expected to be re-confirmed as party chief in a norm-breaking move and surround himself with allies.

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  • China party congress offers look at future leaders

    China party congress offers look at future leaders

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    BEIJING — While Xi Jinping is primed to receive a third term as head of China’s ruling Communist Party on Sunday, it is unknown who will join him for the next five years on the party’s leading bodies, the Central Committee and the Politburo.

    Analysts will scrutinize who joins, and who leaves, for any clues about the future direction of policy as well as just how much power the 69-year-old Xi has been able to amass as one of China’s most influential figures in the country’s modern political history.

    Most closely watched will be the Politburo Standing Committee, whose size fluctuates but has stood at seven members under Xi. Based on past practice, the new lineup will be revealed when the members walk out from behind a curtain Sunday, one day after the end of a weeklong party congress.

    The positions they take on stage, to Xi’s left and right, will indicate their rank within what is considered the inner circle of power. Leading contenders include both current members and newcomers:

    ———

    PREMIER LI KEQIANG

    One major question is the future of the party’s No. 2 official, Premier Li Keqiang, who has been on the Standing Committee since 2012 and is primarily responsible for heading the cabinet and managing the world’s second-largest economy.

    The 67-year-old Li is regarded as an advocate of market reforms and private enterprise, in contrast to Xi, who favors state-led development with an emphasis on technological self-reliance and reducing the large gap between rich and poor.

    Li has had little impact on policymaking since Xi sidelined him politically, but he has led efforts to promote consumption-led economic growth and reduce reliance on exports and investment, employing tactics that some other countries say violate China’s free-trade commitments.

    Though he has said he will step down as premier next year, he is still eligible to stay on the Standing Committee. If he remains, analysts say that might indicate that supporters of a more market-driven economy have tempered Xi’s push for greater state control.

    ADVISORY BODY HEAD WANG YANG

    Other possible holdovers include Wang Yang, who joined the Standing Committee in 2017 and is also regarded as a member of the wing that favors markets, private enterprise and economic experimentation.

    Wang heads the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a party-controlled advisory body made up of representatives from various sectors such as religious groups, professional organizations and chambers of commerce.

    He won plaudits in 2011 for defusing protests by residents of the fishing village of Wukan over land sales by local officials.

    POLITICAL THEORIST WANG HUNING

    Longtime party political theorist Wang Huning is seen as likely to stay on the Standing Committee. He may move up to head of the National People’s Congress, the largely ceremonial legislature, which would make him one of the top three party officials.

    VICE PREMIER HU CHUNHUA

    Among possible newcomers, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua is considered one of those with the best chance. He was a top official in Guangdong province from 2012 to 2017, where he led a crackdown on “naked officials” who work in China but have sent their families to live abroad, considered an indication of corruption.

    Hu rose through the party’s Communist Youth League, which is seen as a separate faction from Xi’s circle and politically close to Xi’s predecessor, former party leader and President Hu Jintao.

    Hu Chunhua is known as a boy wonder who ranked first in China’s national university entrance examinations and became the youngest person to hold several official posts.

    He spent the first two decades of his career in Tibet, where he promoted economic development and oversaw efforts to suppress pro-independence sentiment. He was thereafter appointed party secretary for the Inner Mongolia region.

    SHANGHAI CHIEF LI QIANG

    Li Qiang has been party secretary of Shanghai, China’s largest city and financial hub, since 2017. The post was previously held by Xi, former President Jiang Zemin and former Premier Zhu Rongji.

    Li is regarded as being close to Xi after serving under him in the southeastern province of Zhejiang, a center for export-oriented manufacturing and private enterprise.

    His reputation was dented by a lengthy lockdown of Shanghai earlier this year that confined 25 million people to their homes, disrupted the economy and prompted scattered public protests.

    CHONGQING LEADER CHEN MIN’ER

    Chen Min’er, another Xi ally who worked under him in Zhejiang province, has served as party secretary of the vast southwestern city of Chongqing since 2017.

    The 62-year-old Chen is regarded by analysts as a rising star whom Xi might want to promote in order to secure his legacy in the next generation.

    Chen has never held a national-level position but is seen as a capable leader who made Chongqing’s government more responsive and efficient after a turbulent period under the now-imprisoned Bo Xilai, who was a Xi rival.

    He previously held the top post in Guizhou, a relatively poor southern province, from 2012 to 2017.

    ———

    The guessing game aside, some question how much the makeup of the Standing Committee matters given Xi’s steely hold on power and the lack of significant policy or ideological differences.

    With his combative approach, Xi is more of a politician in the mold of communist China’s founder Mao Zedong than his more collegial predecessors, who sought to encourage the private sector and maintain good relations with the West.

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