China unveils new leadership with no clear successor to Xi Jinping
On Oct. 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a new leadership team, with no apparent successor, raising the possibility he may seek to retain his grip on power. (Oct. 25, 2017)
Reporting from Beijing — Chinese President Xi Jinping ripped up decades of precedence on Wednesday, unveiling a new leadership team with no apparent successor and raising the possibility he may seek to retain his grip on power.
Xi led the new lineup — dressed almost identically in black suits — onto a red-carpeted stage in the Great Hall of the People. All five new members of the top-level Politburo Standing Committee, who will join Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, are in their 60s.
The debut occurred in theatrical fashion at the end of a twice-a-decade party congress with a room full of sweaty journalists and an announcer. It follows the decision Tuesday to elevate Xi to the level of Mao Tse-tung, the nation’s founder, by enshrining “Xi Jinping Thought” into the Communist Party constitution.
This step — along with the lack of a clear heir — gives Xi even greater influence over the country’s future and the sweeping, definitive vision he sees for it.
“A new era needs a new look, and even more needs new accomplishments,” he said, when introducing the lineup. They stood behind him to the left, looking stern.
The new members are all longtime politicians, with knowledge of issues such as foreign trade and party ideology. But none is young enough to succeed Xi in five years when his decade tenure ends.
“Xi is prepared to extend his power or influence beyond 2022,” said Yanmei Xie, a China policy analyst for research firm Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing. “The party has shifted away from an institutionalized power-transition process and vested more power into this one person.”
Deng Xiaoping, who succeeded Mao, sought to avoid the kind of single-handed power Mao used to drag China through a brutal Cultural Revolution. He launched an era of collective leadership that has lasted a quarter century — until, perhaps, now.
The team installed to help Xi usher in a “new era” of ideological purity and international prominence is not only made up of tight allies. Neither Han Zheng, 63, a Shanghai party secretary praised for building up the shiny financial capital, nor Wang Yang, 62, a vice premier, has longtime ties with Xi.
Xi is more closely aligned with Li Zhanshu, 67, his chief of staff; Zhao Leji, 60, head of a party organization that handles job placements; and Wang Huning, 62, a political theorist expected to serve as the party’s ideological chief.
Xi also didn’t bend retirement norms to keep Wang Qishan, 69, his old friend and powerful head of the anti-corruption agency. Both actions, analysts say, demonstrate Xi intends to maintain some continuity and may have helped assuage leaders concerned about the decision not to name an heir.
“Most important for the moment is that there is a representation of balance,” said Matthias Stepan, who researches Chinese public policy at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. “Five years down the road it might be a little bit different.”
Guangdong Party Secretary Hu Chunhua and Chongqing party chief Chen Min’er, both rising stars under 60, were rumored to appear among the new faces. But they will instead rise to the 25-member Politburo, which serves as a springboard for the standing committee. Only one woman was selected for the Politburo.
Chinese presidents are allotted two five-year terms, so Xi would need to change the constitution to keep that position. But nothing prevents him from staying on as Communist Party chief or Central Military Commission chairman.
Xi also may have determined that a successor would limit his power, making him a lame duck. He might want to give potential heirs more time to prove themselves. Or he could be gunning for a third term.
“It’s the ‘one person has the final say’ situation, especially now that his name is enshrined in the party constitution,” said Zhang Ming, a political analyst in Beijing. “The new lineup can’t possibly mean anything.”
Many of Xi’s policies already are in place, so experts don’t expect major swings. Xi gave a nod to the past on Wednesday, noting Deng ushered in his market “reform and opening” four decades ago next year, and continuing those efforts is a “crucial move shaping China’s future.”
The new leaders must also confront an economy held up by corporate debt, pressure over North Korea, and neighbors irked by China’s increasingly assertive territorial claims.
“Let’s not assume because Xi has his name in the constitution now that he’s omnipresent, omniscient and omni-capable,” said Jude Blanchette, a researcher at the Conference Board in Beijing.
What’s really going to determine if Xi is the leader he claims to be, he added, “is if he can deliver on these promises.”
Xi took no questions Wednesday after informing the world of his new leaders and embarking on a next term.
Meyers is a special correspondent.
Twitter: @jessicameyers
Nicole Liu and Gaochao Zhang in The Times’ Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
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