At the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is equivalent to the Chinese National Assembly, the reappointment of Chinese President Xi Jinping was unanimously confirmed, marking the beginning of the era of Xi Jinping’s dictatorship.
However, there are concerns that President Xi’s next five years in office will be like a storm as there are a lot of tasks to be solved, such as economic recovery and population aging, not only in Taiwan but also in Taiwan as well as the immediate US-China relations.
According to local media such as Xinhua News Agency, the National People’s Congress held a plenary meeting on the 10th (local time) and confirmed President Xi Jinping’s third consecutive term, and announced the opening of the ‘Xi Jinping era’ by taking control of the Communist Party, the country and the military. Beginning his unprecedented third term, Xi extended his tenure to 15 years for the first time in history since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
◇ Xi Jinping, unanimously confirmed for reappointment… Completion of the dictatorship system dominated by the party and the government
The key to the National People’s Congress vote on this day was not whether President Xi Jinping’s “continuation of the term” was concerned, but whether or not to obtain “unanimous approval” from all of the approximately 3,000 National People’s Congress representatives. This is because the voting was only a formal procedure because the personnel plan had already been passed at the second plenary meeting (second plenary session) of the 20th Central Committee held last month.
In the vote that day, President Xi received unanimous approval from all 2,952 representatives of the National People’s Congress who attended the meeting, which was expected.
In 2013, when Xi first became president, he was elected with a voter turnout of 99.86%. At that time, there were only 1 dissenting vote and 3 abstaining votes. .
◇ From the US, China and Taiwan to pressure on economic recovery… Xi Jinping faces a ‘storm’ from the start of the third term
However, at the start of his third term in power, President Xi is expected to face pressure to tackle various tasks.
Competition between the US and China has deteriorated to the point of reminiscent of the era of the new Cold War, and it seems difficult to break the link of deteriorating relations in the process of promoting Taiwan unification. Even internally, the time has come for Xi to demonstrate an economic rebound and prove that China’s governance model is effective.
Experts agree that the next five years will be a very important period for both China and President Xi Jinping.
Alfred Wu, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that “President Xi has consolidated a lot of power and appoints loyalists to form a new team.” It pointed out that it is to rebound the economy, to strengthen technology independence and national security.
Professor Wu said, “President Xi has repeated many times that China will ‘navigate stormy seas’ in the next few years. To this end, President Xi will introduce strict internal discipline and strengthen the economic engine, while seeking new technologies and strengthening combat power.”
But the biggest challenge for Xi is still US-China tensions, Professor Wu feared. “If the Taiwan situation is not handled properly, it could hamper Xi Jinping’s core legacy, the goal of ‘China’s great revival’,” he said.
Professor Xie Maosong, senior researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, also stressed the importance of the next five years, saying that Xi’s team must return the economy to a growth trajectory to achieve technological independence.
“The next five years will be critical as President Xi and his team seek technological independence while tackling China’s economic decline and reversing its growth trajectory,” he said. “President Xi’s team is all the more important because they have to show the international community that the economic model works and will eventually overtake the US,” he added.
Professor Xie said, “During the pandemic, there were speculations that China would never catch up with the United States because of its slow economic growth, but it may be a hasty judgment. By the end of the year, we will have a better idea of the recovery in China.”
In addition, President Xi must solve China’s population crisis, which is facing a crisis. In fact, China’s population last year was 1.41175 billion, down 850,000 from last year, the first decline since 1961.
China’s 1.4 billion population has served as the engine that propels the country’s economy to the world’s second-largest, but there are growing concerns that a decline in the working-age population will lead to a decline in tax revenues and eventually add to the strain on the pension system.
Meanwhile, at the plenary session held on the 11th, a vote will be held to determine the successor of Premier Li Keqiang, who is about to retire. Li Chang, a member of the Standing Committee, has been appointed to this position, and by convention, Li Chang is expected to hold a press conference as the new prime minister at the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress on the 13th.
On the 12th, deputy prime ministers, state councilors, department heads and heads of various ministries, and the president of the People’s Bank of China are appointed.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.