Scandal at the party congress – Hu Jintao led off the podium against his will

The petite-looking Hu Jintao is not necessarily seen as a supporter of the current party leader. He belongs to the Communist Youth League camp in the party, which was weakened by Xi Jinping.

What was behind the incident with ex-president Hu Jintao remained unclear. He belongs to the Communist Youth League camp in the party, which was weakened by Xi Jinping. After two terms in office, Hu Jintao handed over the post of Secretary General to Xi Jinping in 2012. He represents the old “collective” model of governance with representatives of different factions and with age limits. This was to prevent a leader from becoming as powerful as state founder and revolutionary Mao Tsetung, who had brought chaos to the country. History should not repeat itself.

Age limit exceeded
Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping further expanded his power at the Communist Party Congress in Beijing. At the conclusion of the party’s five-year convention, the 2,300 delegates in Beijing on Saturday anchored its ideology and continued leadership even more deeply into the party’s constitution. The 69-year-old wants to start a third term as secretary-general on Sunday and thereby break the old age limit.

Delegates called for the inclusion of various theoretical concepts in the Constitution. Among them are the “Two Establishments” (Liang ge queli), establishing Xi Jinping’s position of power as the core of the party and the “Xi Jinping’s ideas for socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era” as a guideline. The “Four Realms of Consciousness” (Si ge yishi) must also be replenished. They demand loyalty, political integrity, leadership support and adherence to the party line.

Also the “Four Confidence” (Si ge zixin), which relate to the course of the party, party theories, socialism with Chinese characteristics and Chinese culture, will be compulsory. Finally, the requirement for the “Two Conservations” (Liang geweihu) was added, which relate to Xi Jinping’s key position and the authority of the party and centralized, unified leadership.

Xi’s own successor
“The most important political innovation of this party congress cannot be found on paper: instead of making way for a younger successor after two terms as secretary-general, Xi Jinping is posing as his own successor,” said Katja Drinhausen of the China Institute. Meric in Berlin. In his first decade in office, Xi Jinping formulated “great ambitions” for China and the Communist Party. “He has now supported them and paved the way for them to become a reality.”

The newly appointed Central Committee will hold its first plenary session on Sunday to confirm the reshuffle of the Politburo and its powerful Standing Committee. Xi Jinping will be confirmed as Secretary General and head of the Military Commission for an unusual third term. “Perhaps he will find his third term in office the most difficult so far,” said Richard McGregor of Australia’s Lowy Institute. A possible successor has not been appointed.

However, Xi Jinping has abolished this institutionalization and created a personalized system where no one else can come near him, noted American political scientist Francis Fukuyama in “The Atlantic.” “The concentration of authority by one person has led to poor decision-making processes.” He cited Xi Jinping’s failed interventions in the business and tech sectors and his adherence to the strict zero-covid strategy, which has become a tough one. burden with lockdowns has become for the economy.