Key Takeaways As Xi Promotes Allies To China Leadership As Rivals, Women Lose Out

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the country’s most powerful political body Sunday, promoting allies who have proven their loyalty at the expense of rivals. The announcement of the Standing Committee came after a Communist Party congress which further consolidated his position as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

Here are the key takeaways:

Standing Committee

Xi put six close associates with him on the Politburo Standing Committee, including former Shanghai chief Li Qiang, 63, who looks set to be the next premier after Li Keqiang retires. Others promoted included anti-graft czar Zhao Leji, 65; party secretariat chief Wang Huning, 67; Beijing party secretary Cai Qi, 66; Xi’s chief of staff Ding Xuexiang, 60; and Guangdong leader Li Xi, 66. He was associated with previous leader Hu Jintao. He Lifeng joined the broader Politburo, and is on track to take Liu He’s position as Xi’s top economic advisor.

The context: Li Qiang’s promotion comes despite widespread unhappiness at his lockdown of Shanghai to contain a Covid outbreak, with growth having suffered as a result. If he becomes premier, he will be the first not to have previously served as vice premier since Zhou Enlai. Cai Qi is another close ally of Xi without central government experience. He’s the top party official in Beijing and served for a long time in Zhejiang province, one of the richest areas of China, where Xi also worked earlier in his career.

Potential Rivals Are Out

Vice-premier Hu Chunhua, who was once seen as a potential president, will step down from the Politburo. Premier Li Keqiang is also exiting the party leadership, though he will remain premier for a few months. Others exiting the broader party leadership group include economy czar Liu He, central bank Governor Yi Gang, and banking regulator Guo Shuqing, although that doesn’t guarantee they will lose their current government posts.

The context: Xi’s six fellow Standing Committee members are all close allies, putting his people in key positions responsible for running the government and effectively tearing down divisions between party and state instituted following Mao Zedong’s chaotic rule. Underscoring Xi’s preeminence, an increasing number of party officials started referring to him as lingxiu, or “leader,” a revered title of praise that was previously reserved for Mao Zedong.

Hu Jintao Speculation

On the eve of the unveiling of the Standing Committee, former President Hu Jintao, 80, was publicly escorted from the dais, where he had been sitting beside Xi Jinping. There was no initial explanation, and Hu appeared reluctant to leave. Later, the official Xinhua News Agency said Hu had been feeling unwell and was now recovering. 

The context: Hu’s dramatic exit sparked widespread speculation about whether the former president was being purged. Hu, who turns 80 in December, has looked increasingly frail in recent public appearances and seemed confused as he was led off stage. Still, some said that even if he was ill, the manner of his exit further shows Xi is in absolute control. Hu’s predecessor as president, Jiang Zemin, 97, didn’t appear at the congress. 

Women Miss Out

The Politburo has no women for the first time in 25 years, and won just 11 of the 205 seats in the Communist Party’s Central Committee, a slight uptick from five years ago. Another 22 women were named alternate members who can attend meetings but not vote, a slight improvement on the past congress. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, 72, the country’s Covid czar and the lone woman on the current 25-member top decision-making Politburo, was absent from the list, as expected after exceeding the retirement age. The two female front-runners to succeed her both missed out.

The context: China remains dominated by a patriarchy, with a yawning gender gap despite constitutional guarantees for women. And former vice premier Zhang Gaoli appeared in public at the opening of the congress despite being the subject of (since retracted) sexual allegations by tennis star Peng Shuai. In his speech at the opening of the Communist Party congress, Xi had pledged to support women: “We will remain committed to the fundamental national policy of gender equality, protect the lawful rights and interests of women and children and promote all around development initiatives for people with disabilities.”

Security

Xi Jinping declared to the world that development was still his “top priority,” but the rest of his message to China’s leadership told a different story. He mentioned “security” 91 times in his opening address to they congress in Beijing, compared with 55 mentions in his last report five years ago. “Economy” appeared 60 times this year -- the first time it was eclipsed by security issues in the all-important policy statement since the party took power in 1949.

The context: China’s relations with the US and Europe are deteriorating over a wide range of issues including the country’s crackdown on rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang; its threats toward Taiwan; it’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; efforts -- denied by China -- to steal US technology; and its push for more influence across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Pressure on Taiwan

At the opening of the party congress, Xi received loud applause for saying Beijing can take Taiwan “without a doubt.” A day later, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China has decided to seize the self-governing democracy on a “much faster timeline” than previously thought. On Oct. 23, the Communist Party constitution was amended to “firmly oppose and contain Taiwanese independence.” It also advances the “one country, two systems” model for Taiwan. 

The context: Xi has said that unification with Taiwan is essential to completing the rejuvenation of China, even though polls of people on the island show most want to keep running their own affairs and see “one country, two systems” as having failed in Hong Kong. Control of the island would extend China’s military reach, but President Joe Biden has said the US will respond militarily to any unprecedented attack. The island is critical to global chip supplies. 

Economy 

A focus on a greater emphasis on progress in core technologies and more equal distribution of growth was enshrined even further by being written into the party’s charter. The charter now mentions Xi’s slogans “common prosperity” (reducing inequality) “new development phase” (balancing growth with other goals such as security and sustainability), and talent as a “top resource” (more emphasis on human capital to meet technology challenges).

Context: Xi opened the congress with a pledge to regulate wealth, which is leading to speculation the country could impose property and inheritance taxes in pursuit of its “common prosperity” goal. On the tech front, ahead of the congress the Biden administration widened curbs on Chinese access to American technology in a move that could severely set back China’s chip ambitions. Chinese tech regulators summoned local chip firms for urgent talks to try to find a way forward.

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