image source, Getty Images
China’s National People’s Congress, which begins this weekend, will be the culmination of President Xi Jinping’s tightening grip on power in the country.
Xi Jinping has restructured the Chinese Communist Party with himself at the center. There was no one to oppose him as far as the eye could see.
This will be reflected in the changing of the Chinese Premier (premier) at the annual political meeting, a rubber-stamp session attended by nearly 3,000 delegates.
The Prime Minister of the world’s 2nd largest economy will nominally govern the country. He will be next to Xi Jinping in the power structure.
China’s current Premier Li Keqiang will preside over the first day of the National People’s Congress. Later, a new premier—probably Li Qiang—will take over the position.
There are huge differences between Li Kaqiang and Li Qiang when it comes to loyalty to Xi Jinping.
At the Communist Party meeting last October, new appointments were made to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the country’s most powerful body. All of them are loyal to Xi Jinping.
The leadership of various departments and ministries will also be changed in the ongoing National People’s Congress. It is expected that these posts may be given to those loyal to Xi Jinping.
That doesn’t mean they are unqualified, but would they be willing to offer fearless and frank advice to Xi Jinping? The question arises.
“With these changes, on the one hand, Xi can do what he wants to do with his new leadership, but on the other hand, he risks being trapped in an environment where he has no opposition,” a business insider told the BBC.
image source, Getty Images
How important will these appointments be to China?
When Li Qiang was appointed as the second most powerful figure in the Chinese Communist Party, it surprised many.
China’s financial capital, Shanghai, underwent a two-month coronavirus lockdown last year under his watch. This shutdown was very poorly planned. As delivery workers were confined to their homes, they were unable to efficiently transport food and medicine to hundreds of thousands of people who were not allowed outside.
There was severe food shortage. People in Shanghai posted related photos on social media saying that they had to run their lives on rotting vegetables.
This general shutdown caused great distress to the people. They kicked over the fences that had been set up to contain them. People clashed with security guards to enforce the zero-covid policy.
Many question how a person responsible for such a colossal failure can be given the task of managing an entire country.
“He is smart, a great administrator. But of course, he got the job because of his loyalty to Xi Jinping. If Xi Jinping asks to jump, Li Qiang will ask, “How high should you jump,” says Jörg Woodke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. He has been doing business in China since the 1990s. He has also been in touch with top leaders of the Communist Party for many years.
Wudtke also says that the downsides of the zero-covid policy are still being felt by businesses and ordinary consumers.
He says that because of the zero-covid period shock, there is caution about spending, “People have been in shock for the last few years in China. They fear taking risks. They are very careful while taking decisions. The shock is particularly strong in Shanghai. “Shanghai’s attractiveness for foreign investment has declined significantly,” he said.
Woodke, however, feels that Li Qiang is not solely responsible for this mistake. The opinion of other businessmen echoes the same.
image source, Getty Images
Li Qiang is credited with bringing Tesla to Shanghai. This is the company’s first factory outside the US. Tessa set up its own factory in Shanghai without the need to partner with a Chinese partner as other foreign car companies have done.
He spoke about the virtues of Shanghai’s first free trade zone in 2019, which will make Shanghai a region conducive to international competitiveness; It will serve as an important support for China to integrate deeply with economic globalization,” he said.
He is seen in some quarters as a liberal figure willing to bend the rules.
Still, it’s not clear whether he will now be a force to bend destiny, unafraid to do what needs to be done because he has Xi Jinping’s support, or remain in Xi Jinping’s shadow.
In 2016, he became party secretary for Jiangsu, a resource-rich eastern province known for its tech companies. He also met with Alibaba founder Jack Ma and other executives to get advice on the business environment there.
But, the current situation is different. In recent years, President Xi Jinping has ordered a crackdown on tech companies, believing they have become too powerful for their own good. “Disappearance” of the leaders of these companies has become a regular occurrence. A recent addition is Bao Fan.
It doesn’t sound like the sort of thing Li Qiang has encouraged in the past, but now he and Xi Jinping have gone a long way.
Before Li Jinpin was in Jiangsu, he was in Zhejiang, another resource-rich eastern province south of Shanghai. Xi Jinping was the provincial party chairman at the time, and after Li became his chief of staff, the two worked late into the night, impressing their superiors.
image source, Getty Images
However, Xi Jinping has no such bond with current incumbent Li Gaqiang.
They rose together in a period of very collective leadership. Li Gaqiang was his rival in a way. Li Gaqiang was also considered a candidate for the presidency. You can’t help but wonder what China would be like now if he had succeeded Xi Jinping instead.
A graduate of Peking University with a degree in economics, Li Gaqiang gradually rose from the Communist Youth Organization to higher positions in the party.
With the presidency unavailable, he was restricted to being premier under Xi Jinping. As Premier, Li Gaqiang announced that the reintroduction of street vendors in cities across China would help revitalize the economy and create an atmosphere of excitement. However, the police evicted those who accepted his invitation and came to set up shops again.
Under Xi Jinping, making the capital “backward” or “old-fashioned” is frowned upon. So, even if the Premier himself says it doesn’t matter.
Former leader Hu Jintao was kicked off the stage at last year’s party meeting by order of Xi Jinping. When Hu Jintao was led away, he patted Li Gaqiang on the shoulder in a friendly manner. He turned and nodded. At present, Li Gaqiang can be seen aligned with Hu Jintao.
image source, Getty Images
Li Kaqiang will be remembered for his strong economic record. But the end of his tenure was marred by the zero-covid crisis.
At the worst, Li Gaqiang told officials to ensure that restrictions did not affect growth, saying the economy was under tremendous pressure.
But Li Gaqiang’s orders were not followed when officials had to decide whether to follow his order to protect the economy or follow President Xi Jinping’s orders to strictly follow zero-covid orders.
Now Xi Jinping has built the party in the order he wants. The only problem he faces is that his reputation has taken a hit with the public.
The Zero Covid policy was hastily dropped after widespread protests, high unemployment among the youth, the impact of technology and the impact on the service sector are against him.
Mao was at a time of economic crisis when the people had nothing to lose. But that is not the case now. People’s livelihood has improved. But middle-class parents are beginning to worry that their children may not lead a better life than they did.
This year’s National People’s Congress and its incumbents will be closely watched by those who want to see where the current center of economic power is headed.
If the country does not perform well in all areas, then the tough questions start to arise.
BBC Tamil on Social Media: