BEIJING, Mar 10: China’s ceremonial Parliament on Friday unanimously confirmed an unprecedented third five-year term for Xi Jinping as President and head of the military, paving the way for him to stay in power for life amid the slowdown of the economy and increasing tensions with the US and EU.
Much on the expected lines, 2,952 legislators of the National People’s Congress (NPC), often described as the rubber stamp Parliament for its routine endorsement of the Communist Party’s proposals approved Xi, the 69-year-old “core leader”, as President and the Chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the high command of the two million strong world’s largest military.
All his predecessors retired after two five-year terms.
But Xi will continue, perhaps for life, as a new powerful leader of the world’s second-largest economy, heading the party, the military and the presidency, which observers say will have wider implications for China internally and externally, especially for the immediate neighbour India, considering the aggressive postures struck by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Xi, known as a ‘princeling’ as he was the son of former vice-premier Xi Zhongxun who was persecuted by party founder Mao Zedong for his liberal views, rose to ranks steadily, becoming vice president under the previous President Hu Jintao.
While Xi had the image of a sedate leader in his previous postings, he transformed himself into the most ambitious and powerful leader soon after he took over the leadership of the party in 2012, immediately followed by the Presidency and Chairman of the CMC by carrying out an unprecedented campaign against corruption in which over a million officials were punished.
Xi was re-elected by the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as its leader in October last year, becoming the first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms.
Xi’s continuation reverts back to Mao’s era of one leader, strongly rejected by his successor Deng Xiaoping to avert excesses and to encourage a collective leadership system in the one-party ruled state.
He has already been elected as the General Secretary of the CPC during its last October Congress, which also elected a new leadership for all its top policy bodies.
The NPC paved the way for Xi’s continuation in power by removing a two-term limit for the President through a Constitutional amendment in 2018, permitting an indefinite tenure for him.
On Friday, the NPC also approved the various leadership positions finalised and recommended by the last month’s Plenum of the CPC besides endorsing a plan on reforming the institutions of the central Cabinet called the State Council.
It includes the creation of a science and technology commission to coordinate efforts to remove bottlenecks in China’s hi-tech industry amid a deepening tech war with the US.
After he was endorsed, Xi took a pledge of allegiance to the Constitution and bowed before the members of the House.
The NPC also appointed former executive vice-premier Han Zheng as vice-president. He succeeds Xi’s close aide Wang Qishan, who carried out a ruthless campaign against corruption punishing over a million officials including a host of Generals of the military, which critics alleged used to subdue any resistance to Xi in the party.
This year’s annual session of the NPC is regarded significant as it heralds a once-in-a-ten-year change of leadership of the Chinese government, including the Premier who presides over the State Council.
The term of the present Premier Li Keqiang has ended and his successor, widely expected to be Li Qiang, who is a close associate of Xi enforced the prolonged lockdown of Shanghai to curb COVID last year is likely to be elected by the NPC on Saturday.
As Xi settles down to prolong his rule, analysts say it will be a critical period for both him and China as he needs to need to halt the slowdown of the economy which last year shrank to three per cent.
China also faces intensified rivalry with the US, the potential for conflict over Taiwan and concerns about the economic impact of China’s rapidly ageing population.
In his interactions with the NPC legislators this week, Xi expressed concern over the growing negativity against China in the US and accused Washington of leading Western nations to suppress China’s development which he said brought unprecedented challenges to the country’s development.
On Xi’s continuation in power, Wang Xiangwei, a columnist for the Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post, warned that Xi’s new tenure, specially his Chinese dream are in danger of being hijacked by ultra-left nationalism.
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said it was time for Xi to deliver.
“He has consolidated so much power and now put in place a new team made up of his trusted men,” he said. “Going forward, his team will be the one that is accountable,” Wu told the Post.
He said the biggest challenge for Xi remained the tension between China and the US.
“If the situation in the Taiwan Strait is not handled properly, it might disrupt Xi’s goal of a great rejuvenation of China, which is a key legacy for him,” Wu said.
Professor Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, said the coming five years would be “very critical” for Xi and his team as they needed to arrest China’s economic decline and put it back on a growth path, while delivering on technological self-reliance goals.
Apart from Xi, several world leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila changed laws to allow them to retain their positions.
Similarly, in other Central Asian countries Uzbekistan and Tajikistan referendums have allowed their leaders to extend their terms.
America’s 32nd president, Franklin D Roosevelt, was elected to four presidential terms, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. After his death, the US Congress approved the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution not to allow more than two terms for a sitting president. (Agencies)
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