BEIJING —
President Xi Jinping hailed China’s rise as a global power and demanded unity
around his leadership on Sunday, launching a Communist Party Congress that is
set to rubber stamp his bid to rule for a historic third term.
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In an opening
address to 2,300 delegates gathered at the Great Hall of the People, Xi
promoted and defended a range of signature policies — including zero-COVID and
his anti-corruption drive that has taken down rivals in the party.
“Unity is strength,
and victory requires unity,” Xi said after walking onstage to a thunderous
reception from the hand-picked attendees who will vote during the week-long
congress on the party leadership for the next five years.
The president —
whose 10-year rule has seen the country become a global superpower — said
“China’s international influence, appeal and power to shape the world has
significantly increased.”
During his
100-minute “work report” on the past five years, Xi also focused on two of
China’s most sensitive security and sovereignty issues in relation to Hong
Kong, after democracy protests were crushed there, and on the self-ruled island
of Taiwan.
He lauded Hong
Kong’s transition from “chaos to governance”, while his vow to “never commit to
abandoning the use of force” on the self-ruled island of Taiwan drew rapturous
applause.
Zero-COVID policy
Xi celebrated the party’s continued efforts to eradicate COVID — which are
placing heavy curbs on people’s lives and is hammering the nation’s economy —
as a major achievement.
He insisted the
approach had “protected people’s safety and health to the highest degree”.
He also highlighted
as a success his graft crackdown, which has seen thousands of people jailed and
critics have said has been used to crush dissent and opposition to his rule.
Xi said the
anti-corruption campaign had eliminated “serious latent dangers” within the
Communist Party, the military and the state.
“The fight against
corruption has won an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively
consolidated,” he said.
In a speech that
mostly focused on domestic issues, Xi also told the delegates that China would
“actively participate in global governance on climate change”.
Xi also reiterated
that China opposed a “Cold War mentality” in international diplomacy, but made
no mention of frayed relations with the United States.
Xi also did not
reference the Ukraine war.
Stability
There were no policy announcements in the address, which was largely a
review of the current state of play, and analysts said Xi wanted to project
stability.
“This is a very
turbulent time with the COVID crisis, economic downturn and tense international
situation, especially with the US,” said Alfred L. Chan, a Xi biographer and
professor based in Canada.
“Caution, rather
than dramatic change, is more prudent.”
Should everything
go to plan for Xi, the 69-year-old will be endorsed as the party’s general
secretary after the week-long meeting ends, cementing his position as China’s
most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Xi and the party’s
other top brass are likely to be unveiled on October 23, the day after the
congress closes.
If picked as party
leader for another five-year term as expected, he is almost certain to be
elected president at the annual meeting of China’s National People’s congress
in March.
In the highly choreographed, mostly closed-door conclave
this week, the delegates will pick members of the party’s roughly 200-member
Central Committee, which in turn selects the 25-person Politburo and its
all-powerful Standing Committee — the country’s highest leadership body.
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