China: Congress ends with Xi Jinping set for third term

China's ruling Communist Party ended its Congress in the Great Hall of the People Saturday with several amendments to the party constitution that will embolden President Xi Jinping's status as China's leader and, Beijing believes, the country's standing in the world.

The week-long Congress was attended by 2,300 delegates, all Party stalwarts. The Congress paved the way for Xi to have an unprecedented third term by cementing his "core position" in the country's leadership.

The official announcement though of a third term will come during the annual legislative sessions in March. In 2018, Xi scrapped the presidential two-term limit, allowing him to rule indefinitely.

Delegates also voted to enshrine opposition to Taiwan's independence in the constitution. After that, Taipei accused Beijing of maintaining an "old mindset." "We call on the Chinese Communist government's new leadership to discard its old mindset of invasion and confrontation and to resolve differences through peaceful, equitable and realistic means," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement. 

What else happened during the Chinese Communist Party Congress?

Delegates endorsed Xi's "work report," a sort of state of the nation address Xi delivered at the opening of the Party Congress.

On Sunday, it is expected that Xi will be announced the next general secretary, shortly after the new Central Committee wraps up its first meeting.

Party delegates also elected a new Central Committee, comprised of about 200 members but did not disclose the full list, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The committee will govern the party for the next five years.

Most key positions in the Central Committee have been assigned to Xi's loyalists.

Were there any surprises despite the choreography?

Despite the pageantry of the weeklong Congress, there were some small surprises too. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the second in command in the country and a key advocate of economic reforms, is one of four senior officials to not retain a post on the Politburo's Standing Committee, China's key decision making body comprised of seven members. He was then excluded from the newly elected Central Committee.

Hu Jintao, the former general secretary of the Communist Party, was led from the podium by ushers in what appeared to be an act undertaken against his will just as media moved into the Great Hall of the People on the final day. The incident, deemed unusual by observers, occurred prior to voting on constitutional amendments.

Hu, appearing frail, is not known to support Xi, though he had sat beside him during the Congress. He is known to belong to a faction that supports "collective leadership."

Chinese state media later said that Hu was "not feeling well" when he was unexpectedly removed from the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress.

 

What messages did China want to convey at the Congress?

Xi urged members of his party to prepare themselves for upcoming geopolitical challenges.

"Confronted with drastic changes in the international landscape," he said, citing "especially external attempts to blackmail, contain, and blockade" China. "We have put our national interests first," he declared.

At one of the closing events of the Congress, Xi said, "Dare to struggle, dare to win."

Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer in Taiwan Studies at the Australian National University (ANU) and currently based in Taipei, told DW that events had revealed a winner-takes-all situation. 

"Xi is showing to the world that they should stop trying to hope that there will be a division of power or factional power struggle within China today or going forward. The attempt to play one faction over the other is in the past tense now."

"There will be no other power figure of comparable stature who can play a balancing role or be the focal point for organizing any meaningful organized opposition to check Xi’s power."

Alfred Wu, Associate Professor from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, said he thought Xi would go on to seek a fourth term in five years. 

"It’s one-man politics, no different to dictatorship. The outcome is pushing China’s party-state further toward a one-man dictatorship. We can see it this way."

"For example, currently Xi may think the zero-Covid strategy is the best strategy for China and best for the whole world but the rest of the world is doing one thing. No checks and balances and information surrounding Xi will be very much like favoring Xi’s assumption. It"ll look like an echo chamber."

William Yang in Taipei contributed to this report.

mf, rc/ar (AP, AFP)