CChinese President Xi Jinping packed the Politburo Standing Committee, or PBCS, of the Chinese Communist Party with ‘friends’. Outgoing Prime Minister Li Keqiang and former Deputy Prime Minister Wang Yang 20. moved outth The Central Committee marks the expulsion of the ‘Youth League faction’. Xi was hailed as the “People’s Leader”, further enhancing his status. China’s total trade surplus with India is over $1 trillion. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar presents excerpts from India’s China policy at a think-tank event. British pilots helped train the People’s Liberation Army personnel in China. Chinascope for you 20 . brought stories ofth The Party Congress was held in Beijing and other major events around the world this week.
China in a week
At noon in Beijing on Sunday, seven people walked into an auditorium full of Chinese and international journalists. These people, including General Secretary Xi Jinping, are in the next PBSC, the top decision-making body in China.
After months of speculation, we learn that Xi has packed PBSC with friends and associates. Besides Xi, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi are the other members. Li Qiang, who will be the next prime minister of China, has been promoted from the role of Shanghai Party Secretary to the second position. The promotion is a break from tradition as he has not served as Deputy Prime Minister before being nominated for the post of Premier.
Even more surprising was that two moderate candidates – Wang Yang and Hu Chunhua – were completely excluded from the nomination. Wang is now likely to retire as he has not been included in the Central Committee, and Hu Chunhua has also not been included in the next Politburo. Li Keqiang is also about to retire. With the expulsion of these three personalities from the top echelons of power, Tuan Pai, Or the Communist League faction has been sidelined altogether.
In addition to the PBSC, a 24-member politburo was announced on Sunday. There are some immediate implications for India.
The two persons in the new Politburo have a history of dealing directly or indirectly with India. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will now sit in the new Politburo and replace Yang Jiechi as the next director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Wang Yi has been at the forefront of talks regarding the current India-China standoff in Ladakh.
Another man, He Weidong, formerly the commander of the Eastern Theater Command, is set to join the Politburo and become deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission. He Weidong, in the past, served as the commander of the Western Theater Command from July 2016 to December 2019. He was in command during the 2017 Doklam standoff and oversees China’s military deployment ahead of the June 2020 eastern Ladakh conflict.
In the coming weeks, we’ll try to understand more of the new leadership line-up.
As soon as 20. But the dust settled on Xi’s speechth In the inaugural session of the party Congress, people are trying to interpret his words. While the text of the speech is important, we also need to examine its context. Xi’s speech can be classified as: zhengzi baogao instead of (a political report) guangzhou baogao (Work Report), written by journalist David Bandursky China Media Project,
The report, with its political essence, sought to set the broader tone of the CCP’s agenda for the next five years, rather than a work report with bureaucratic undertones.
Taking another step closer to Mao Zedong’s legacy, Xi was described as a “People’s Leader” by Tian Pian, deputy director of the party’s Office of Policy Research, during a press conference. “Such figures can mobilize people and turn people’s shared aspirations into reality. Secretary-General Xi Jinping is the outstanding figure and people’s leader of our era,” said Peon. lingxiu The title was first introduced in 2017. was used duringth Xi. for party congress, But now, the Chinese president can officially secure it, further increasing his position in the party constitution.
In the past, only Mao and his successor Hua Guofeng have held the titles of “Great Leader” and “Wise Leader”, respectively. If the title is enshrined in the required amendment to the Chinese constitution, Xi’s status will be elevated not only within the CCP but throughout the history of the People’s Republic of China.
According to experts, the title could become one of the other examples for Xi to rule China in the coming years.
Another interesting aspect of Xi’s report was its reference to “regulation of wealth”, which gives some clarity about the direction of the “general prosperity” campaign outlined in the speech.
The “regulation of wealth” signals that Beijing may adopt a more interventionist approach to economic management by promoting a state-owned enterprise model and imposing tighter controls on private enterprises already under attack.
Although Beijing may not be well behind private entrepreneurs in the current economic climate, Xi’s speech signals a slow move toward the end of the gold age of unlimited accumulated wealth.
Ye Fan and Wang Runmeng, analysts at Southwest Securities, to accept That Beijing could target property assets and use taxes to adjust wealth distribution.
Xi’s statement on money has raised concerns in the investment world. Signs of the Chinese president filling the role of prime minister with an aide would signal another departure from the economic agenda of the past managed by a trained bureaucrat – fueling some concern in financial markets. Beijing has now decision made To indefinitely delay the release of third quarter GDP figures.
China’s total trade surplus with India has exceeded $1 trillion since the boom in trade between the two in the 2000s, according according to latest estimates Hindu,
“It is increasing across the board, which means we are importing a lot more than we export. And the net is definitely going against us. But, we are also keeping an eye on whether there has been a disproportionate increase against any one country,” Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said of the country’s trade deficit with China.
In 2021, annual two-way trade crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time to reach an all-time high of $125.6 billion.
read also, Never Ruin a Good Crisis – How Xi Jinping Removed His Rivals, Takes Control of the CCP
China in world news
Jaishankar has discussed India’s China policy in a conversation with the media in the country and abroad. But rarely does a government think tank host an event to put together pieces of India’s official thinking on relations with China.
Last week, that’s what we got to see. Jaishankar spoke at a conference organized by the Center for Contemporary China Studies, a think tank affiliated to the Ministry of External Affairs, in New Delhi. “Indeed, Indian policy in the past has exhibited a remarkable degree of self-restraint in the hope that others may have a veto over their choices. However, that period is now behind us. ‘ Obviously not just for China,” the foreign minister said in a Twitter thread,
In his commentary, he also mentioned an interesting term called “cumulative boundary balance”. We really don’t know what it really means. But we can infer that Jaishankar may be referring to an imbalance in capabilities between the two countries.
The full Twitter thread is worth a read.
On 11 October, the United Kingdom announced that the Liz Truss government was working on formally designating China as a ‘national security threat’. The latter was previously described as a “systemic competitor” by the Boris Johnson government. But a revelation this week showed the flaws in Britain’s policy on China.
We learned that 30 former British military pilots trained PLA personnel for lucrative pay checks of $270,000. The British pilots were being recruited through a head-hunting firm affiliated with the Flying Academy in South Africa. Although the recruitment of British pilots does not violate existing UK law, authorities in several countries, including Australia and New Zealand, are investigating the matter of their pilots training Chinese military personnel.
One theory is that Beijing is Ask Information from Western pilots to gain an advantage in a possible conflict over Taiwan.
As UK Prime Minister Liz Truss decides to resign, we will have to see if the plan to declare China a ‘threat’ goes ahead.
But it wasn’t the only UK-China story that grabbed top headlines.
In Manchester, Chinese Consul General Zheng Zhiyuan had a violent clash with Hong Kong pro-democracy protester Bob Chan and pulled the latter’s hair. Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverley summoned the Chinese Chargé d’affaires, seeking an explanation for the incident. Meanwhile, Zheng told the media Interview with sky News That it was his “duty” to pull the protester’s hair.
Read also: China was insisting on ‘Xiplomacy’ all these years. the world is just waking up to it
India in China
Weibo users last week shared screenshots of their new “Made in India” iPhone 14. Making fun of the model, he Told: “Tastes like curry”. “Remember to wash your hands” Told Another when ‘Indians’ talk about touching the iPhone.
“Apple is forcibly ‘decoupling’ to meet White House” another user wrote about Apple moving supply chains out of China.
Some other users asked if the iPhone was being manufactured in Vietnam and were surprised to find the ‘Made in India’ label on the models.
October 20 marks the 60th anniversary of the 1962 Indo-China war. The hashtag “60th anniversary of India-China border self-defense counterattack” was trending on Weibo and garnered 1.3 million views. Beijing also officially declared the war.self defense counterattack war,
Nationalist Weibo users posted pictures comparing the 1962 Indian Army with the modern Army stationed in Ladakh. “60 years have passed, and Asan still has not made any progress, as always, he was captured alive …” wrote A Weibo blogger with over 3,16,000 followers.
Despite some independent comments, the official state media remained largely silent on the subject as 20th The party Congress dominated the news.
what you should read this week
In China, 1962 anniversary brings new attention to ‘forgotten’ war , Anant Krishnani
China’s army is holding America, is it ready for war? , alastair gayle
The author is a columnist and a freelance journalist, currently pursuing an MSc in International Politics with a focus on China from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He was previously a Chinese media reporter for the BBC World Service. He tweeted @aadilbrar. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Likes)