China sets date for 20th Communist Party Congress

China’s governing Communist Party has set a date for its 20th Congress in which President Xi Jinping is expected to secure his third term, cementing his position as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. This will likely occur given that in 2018, President Xi eliminated the limit of two terms for the presidency. He is also expected to exert unchallenged control over crucial policy directives and appointments. Through the ages, the 69-year-old leader steadily consolidated power and eliminated space for dissent since becoming the party’s leader. Xi has over the years asserted that he will use his power to further his grand vision for the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” – all this despite a declining economy, the Covid-19 pandemic and rising tensions over Taiwan.

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What is the congress about?

The meeting, which occurs every five years, is set to take place on October 16. The one-week event will see over 2,000 Communist Party delegates meet up in Beijing in a highly choreographed exercise to choose members of the party’s Central Committee, which consists of about 200 members. After that, the Central Committee will select from its ranks 25 members for the Politburo, and the mighty Standing Committee – consisting of seven people and makes up the highest leadership body of power.

Key outcomes of the congress are expected to be about personnel changes – particularly, who will join Xi on the Standing Committee and who will replace Premier Li Keqiang who is set to retire in March.

Pushing China further away

Before Xi takes to the stand for the third time, it is important to reflect on the decade of power that had passed. During his reign, he has faced harsh criticism from the international community for his repressive policies in the northwestern Xinjiang region, where an estimated 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are detained in a supposed attempt in cracking down on “terrorism”. Beyond this, Xi’s rule has seen the suppression of corruption within the party. But analysts said that this served as a way to take down political rivals and crush a pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Xi Jinping also ushered in an assertive ‘wolf warrior‘ foreign policy that has since alienated Western countries and further weakened China’s global image. This policy is an assertive diplomatic tactic that insults or even threatens those who supposedly violate the country’s interests.