Xi’s 3rd Term Amid Strategic Tensions

 Yuba Nath Lamsal

Over the last one week, all eyes were on Beijing to see the turns of events in the China’s grand political event to be held once in every five years. The 20th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) kicked off on October 16 and concluded on October 22 re-electing President Xi Jinping as general secretary of the CPC for unprecedented third tenure, signifying that he would continue to lead China at least for another five years. 

The national congress consisting of 2,300 delegates from across the People’s Republic China elected 205 central committee members and 171 alternate members. Apart from it, the powerful politburo standing committee has been reshuffled in which four veterans have retired from politics and the new and younger ones have been replaced them. The politburo standing committee members to retire are Premier Le Keqiang, National People’s Congress chairman Li Zhansu, People’s Political Consultative Conference chairman Wang Yang, and Vice-Premier Han Zheng. Now the new powerful politburo standing committee consists of Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi. Li Qiang will also take over premiership in March 2023 replacing Li Keqiang. 

The CPC is the heart and soul of the Chinese nation, which has been at the helm of affairs for more than seven decades since 1949. The national congress of the CPC is the highest decision making body. Its first national congress was held on 23–31 July 1921 with the participation of 50 members. Now it has grown to be world’s largest political party with over 96 million members. The CPC is the ruling party and its national congress is, definitely, an important political event for China and the Chinese people as its decisions impact every sector of China.  

Standing tall

At the same time, it is important also for the world. China, being the world’s second largest economy and also an emerging super power, the ruling party’s congress and its decision definitely send ripples globally. Thus, the CPC national congress was being watched very closely and carefully by all in the world. Napoleon Bonaparte once said “Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world”. So goes in practice. Similarly, Mao Zedong, soon after the 1949 revolution, said “China has stood up”. China is definitely standing tall and shaking the world. China’s meteoric rise has caused unease and nervousness to some countries while many are contented.  

The western world including the United States are filled with worry and apprehension as China’s rise has challenged their global hegemony while the countries in the developing world are happy to see the emergence of an alternative power in the unipolar state of global order. China is world’s longest continuing civilization. It carries the civilisational history of more than 5000 years. When Europe and the western world were in the rudimentary stage, Asia including China was a bustling civilization with several inventions and innovations. For Europeans, Asia was a greener pasture and they voyaged to different Asian countries to make their fortune. Having relations with China was a matter of pride for European countries. 

In 1873, Britain, a principal industrialising power in Europe, sent its emissary with valuable gifts to the court of China seeking to establish embassy in Chinese capital. However, with much humility, Chinese ruler of that time, returned the gift and denied permission to establish foreign embassy in China. This is a manifestation of China’s historic glory and power in the world until late 19th century. But the same British returned to China in 1830s with opium and gunboats to force open trade that gave birth to a series of external interventions and occupations in China until early 20th Century. A revolution under the banner of Mao-led CPC established People’s Republic of China in 1949 heralding a new era in China’s history. The period from 1949 to 1976 is foundational phase during which China basically focused on stabilisation and consolidation of the revolution. 

With the rise of Deng Xiaoping in 1976, China entered the era of reforms and opening up boosting China’s economic growth and development in a miraculous way. The period of two decades under Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao from 1976 to 2012 gave continuity to the economic reforms and growth. Xi g rose to power in 2012 and he focussed more on economic growth accompanied by raising income of the people and ensuring developmental balance in all regions of China. This is modernisation and national rejuvenation era under which emphasis was laid on poverty alleviation on the one hand and modernisation and innovation in all sectors on the other.

Alliances 

Now China has grown as world’s second largest economy and a global power with the capability of challenging the power of the sole superpower the United States of America. The western countries have adopted a common strategy to contain and counter China and its rise. They have accordingly built alliances of different kinds in Asia and the Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) and different wings and programmes under IPS as well as alliances like Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QUAD consisting of four countries -- United States, India, Japan and Australia -- and a trilateral security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States or AUKUS are a few initiatives taken by the West against China.  

China too has come up with its own strategy and programmes to counter the US and its allies. China has not built any specific alliance targeting the West. But Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and recently announced Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Development Initiative (GDI) are being portrayed as Beijing’s strategic arms to enlarge and expand China’s interest in the world seeking to undermine western influence. Tension, thus, are high between China and the United States. Against this backdrop, Xi Jinping has assumed the CPC leadership and the government for the third term. It is yet to be seen what impact Xi’s third term will have both in China and in the world. 


(The author is former ambassador and former chief editor of this daily. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)

First published in The Rising Nepal on November 2, 2022

https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/17914

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