The Chinese president envisions a greater role for the country in world affairs. Diplomatic coup mediated between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Xi: Communist China succeeded in ending “national humiliation”. In positions of power, all men of the supreme leader.
Beijing () – With nationalist overtones and the intention for the country to play a more important role in world affairs, the annual session of the National People’s Congress (PNA) ended today, which approved the third term of Xi Jinping in power .
Together with the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPCPC), which was meeting at the same time these days to hold the “two sessions” (Lianghui), the “Parliament” is called upon to formalize the decisions already taken by President Xi and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In his closing speech at the meeting, Xi stressed the future prospects of the nation’s international relations. The country’s economy is struggling to recover after three years of strict isolation, and the supreme leader focused on diplomatic successes. On March 10, it was announced that Beijing had mediated the signing of an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations after being interrupted for seven years.
Extolling the role of the Party, Xi said that before the CCP came to power in 1949, China was a “semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, a victim of the arrogance of foreign forces.” Now, in his words, the Chinese “are done with national humiliation.”
In recent days, Xi and his people have attacked the United States more harshly than usual, accusing it of wanting to contain China in order to suppress it. To do this, the Chinese military must modernize and transform into a “Great Wall of Steel.” Xi stressed that to achieve the goal, the nation must strengthen its technological self-sufficiency — a response to Washington, which is blocking Beijing’s access to cutting-edge microchips and other advanced technologies with some success.
On the home front, as expected, Xi placed his allies in key positions of power. Li Qiang replaced Li Keqiang as prime minister, pledging more attention to the private sector, which fears further regulatory tightening after those suffered by the high-tech and education sectors. Ding Xuexiang is the new executive vice premier; Zhao Leji will lead the PNA, while Wang Huning is now head of the CCPPC: along with Xi, Cai Qi and Li Xi, all four are members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the true decision-making body of the Chinese political system.
