Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to an unprecedented third term on October 23

First modification: 10/15/2022 – 15:13

The 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which opens on Sunday in Beijing, will last until October 22, Sun Yeli, spokesman for that event, announced on Saturday. The great five-year appointment of Chinese political life plans to grant President Xi Jinping a third term of five years at the head of the political organization and the country.

The day after the closure, that is to say on October 23, the composition of the new Permanent Committee of the Political Bureau will be revealed, the group of seven or nine personalities that embodies the leadership of power, including the general secretary of the PCC, currently Xi Jinping. In total, some 2,300 delegates, chosen by the different assemblies of the single party, will meet behind closed doors after the opening ceremony on Sunday in Beijing, at the People’s Palace.

Xi Jinping, 69, will take stock of the last five years there, and will communicate his roadmap for the next five years in a televised speech. The congress, the 20th since the creation of the PCC in 1921, will foreseeably give rise to a major reconfiguration of the Permanent Committee of the Politburo. According to unwritten tradition, some of the current members of this ruling cenacle have reached the age at which they must retire.

– Health bubble for journalists –

To cover the event, the press has been forced to remain in a health bubble since Friday, as part of the strict measures linked to the zero covid policy. The journalists are isolated in a hotel, in the west of Beijing, and must undergo a series of tests. The presentation press conference on Saturday took place in front of two giant screens.

During this two-hour video conference, the congress spokesperson responded to questions from Chinese and foreign media. There were no questions about Xi Jinping. “The epidemic is still there, it is a reality that must be faced,” said the congress spokesman, questioned about the future of the zero covid policy, which wreaked havoc on the Chinese economy.

In the congress that starts this Sunday, the Central Military Commission, with 11 members, will also be renewed, fundamental because it controls the army. The dreaded Central Commission for Disciplinary Control, which pursues corrupt charges, will also be renewed. The most important decisions are actually made before the Congress among the country’s main officials, who try to agree in advance on the distribution of Political Bureau posts among the different factions of the party.

As usually happens in socialist-type systems, the party prevails over the state. For this reason, Xi Jinping owes his power to his position as general secretary of the CCP, which he acceded to in 2012, and not so much to his election as president by the National People’s Congress in 2013.

with AFP