Security, Not Growth, Is Xi’s Focus

Date: 13‑10‑2022

Source: The Wall Street Journal By Kevin Rudd

He is likely to rebalance Beijing’s strategic priorities at next week’s 20th Party Congress.

The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held every five years, formally appoints the 25‑member Politburo and its seven‑member standing committee. The names of those elevated to senior positions have been of deep significance to China watchers since 1982, when Deng Xiaoping launched the era of “reform and opening.”

The 20th Congress, which gets under way Oct. 16, will be different. There’s only one appointment that matters now: Xi Jinping, China’s Chairman of Everything. The delegates will reappoint Mr. Xi to a third five‑year term as general secretary by a vote of 2,296 to 0. He is also likely to be officially designated as the country’s “great navigator,” the “people’s leader” or even “chairman,” likening him to Mao Zedong and further entrenching his power.