Beijing: The 20th Communist Party Congress will be held in China from Sunday. Only Chinese President Xi Jinping will be given a reprieve when he takes over the leadership of the party. It is reported that the party congress will allow him to become the president of the country for the third time.
Spokesman Sun Yeli did not say anything about Xi Jinping’s stay at the news conference, where he answered only select questions. 2296 elected representatives are participating in the one-week party congress.
Beijing will be the venue for the conference where Xi Jinping’s infallibility was revealed. The agenda for the closed-door meeting was set by President Xi Jinping. The 69-year-old Xi is unchallenged while many prominent leaders are on the way out because of age limit and ten-year term.
The party congress may suggest a complete reshuffle in the cabinet. The second most prominent leader, Li Keqiang, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others are expected to be displaced.
After the death of party leader Mao Zedong in 1976, no one was appointed to a leadership position for more than 10 consecutive years to ensure collective leadership and infallibility. Xi Jinping, who took office in 2012, is about to change this practice.
The party congress is being held in the backdrop of strict covid restrictions and lockdown which has led to rare protests in the country. China, the world’s second largest economy, is also facing a recession. Unemployment is at a record high of 19 percent.
Protest banners can be seen on social media and in some places on the streets. People generally did not dare to protest under the Iron Curtain. Strict security measures have been imposed in the capital and nearby areas. The Communist Party conducts ideological and strategic deliberations at the Party Congress held once in five years.