Xi Jinping secured a historic third term as China’s leader on Sunday, state media reported, after a Communist Party Congress in which he cemented his position as the nation’s most influential leader since founder Mao Zedong.
A meeting of Communist Party decision makers confirmed that Mr. Xi will stay as party general secretary for another five years — a foregone conclusion — and anointed six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s highest tier of power.
The members are:
Mr. Xi: As well as party leader, he retains his title as head of the military, and is likely to remain state president.
Li Qiang: A new member. As party chief of Shanghai, he oversaw a contentious Covid lockdown. But his longstanding ties to Mr. Xi appeared to help him through.
Zhao Leji: The low-key head of the party’s agency for investigating corruption and disloyalty.
Wang Huning: The party’s veteran ideological seer, who has shaped Mr. Xi’s nationalist ideas. He may get a new role.
Cai Qi: A new member. His ties to Mr. Xi go back over two decades to Fujian Province. Mr. Xi showed his trust by appointing him party chief of Beijing, the all-important capital.
Ding Xuexiang: A new member. A close aide to Mr. Xi, he almost always travels with the top leader, and helps him manage party matters.
Li Xi: A new member. He is the party secretary of Guangdong Province, where he tightened top-down control. He is set to lead the party’s agency for investigating corrupt or disloyal officials.
The inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party are often hard to decipher, but the core organizational structure has not changed much in recent years.
On Saturday, the roughly 2,300 delegates who attended the past week’s twice-a-decade party congress elected around 200 full members to the Central Committee. It is the party’s top leadership body and pulls from a cross-section of its luminaries, including military officers, provincial officials and ministers.
The Central Committee has convened a meeting on Sunday to select about 25 officials who will comprise the Politburo, its executive policymaking body. (The precise number has varied in the past.) The selection is often done through back-room dealings. Historically, the group has been almost exclusively male, consisting of figures like party secretaries of major cities and directors of significant government offices.
From there, the group is further narrowed to the Politburo Standing Committee, the inner circle of power in Chinese politics. The committee’s members are responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.
The Standing Committee must include the party’s general secretary. This is almost sure to be Xi Jinping, claiming a rare third term as China’s top leader.
The other members of the Standing Committee usually include the premier, the first vice premier and the chairman of the National People’s Congress (not to be confused with the Communist Party congress).
The number of people on the Standing Committee has varied; some have had as few as five members, some as many as 11. The past two Standing Committees have had seven members. (New York Times)
