China’s President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, October 16 year 2022.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
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Mark Schiefelbein / AP
China’s President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, October 16 year 2022.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
China’s Xi Jinping gave a nearly two-hour speech at a Communist Party congress on Sunday, kicking off a conclave widely seen as extending his rule to a decade. second century.
More than 2,300 hand-selected delegates from around the country were converging in Beijing for the week-long event, which takes place every five years. It will set the tone for policy in the years to come and reshuffle the country’s top officials.
In the Great Hall of the People, on Tiananmen Square, Xi celebrated the party’s achievements since he took power a decade ago, and outlined principles for policy and governance. party leadership in the coming years.
Here are four key takeaways from his speech:
Covid
Since the early days of the pandemic, China’s Covid control policies have meant tight borders, forced volumes testInvasive digital monitoring, mandatory quarantine and quick lock – usually of the entire city.
On Sunday, Mr. Xi told the 20th Party Congress that China’s approach “puts people and lives above all else”. He gave no signal that China’s tough Covid rules would end any time soon.
“In launching an all-out people’s war to prevent the spread of the virus, we have protected the health and safety of the people to the highest degree possible and achieved encouraging achievements in both disease response and economic and social development”.
This is hardly a surprise. The number of cases and deaths in China has been checked. And Mr. Xi has cemented his reputation with the policy of “Non-Covid Dynamics” by advocating it again and again.
However, after nearly three years of the policy, frustration and fatigue are growing in China. Just three days before the convention started, protest banners was hung from a Beijing overpass to condemn Covid’s policies and call for Mr Xi’s ouster in a rare display of civil disobedience.
Economics
Mr. Xi has urged economic improvement in China, although it will be an uphill battle. China started the year with an economic growth target of “about 5.5%”. The target has not been officially eliminated, but the authorities Don’t give a snowball a chance to hit it – largely thanks to the “Dynamic zero Covid” policy.
One Reuters poll released on Saturday showed that economists expect GDP to grow by just 3.2% this year. After a slump in 2020, when Covid makes its debut, it will be “the worst performance since 1976 – the final year of the decade-long Cultural Revolution that devastated the economy.” economic”.
However, the economy had slowed before Covid, and Mr. Xi said that “high-quality development” was key to China’s future, and that the party should also aim to raise incomes and ensure people happy people. He said the next five years would be “important”.
He also advocated “reform and opening up,” the party’s guiding principle for the past four decades that has unleashed market forces and activated China’s economy.
“We must intensify efforts to promote reform and explore new platforms, and we must remain steadfast in opening up,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Xi had said China’s commitment to reform and opening up would not waver. At the same time, however, he has upheld the role of the state in economic matters, and has taken dramatic steps to bring what he sees as inappropriate – like real estate, technology and education. After-school education – get under control.
Xi stressed the party’s goal is to make China more self-sufficient in areas including food production. He said the country should strengthen its “leading position in industries in which we excel”, and overcome weaknesses in areas important to China’s national security.
Attendees bowed to the moment of seeing off their fallen comrades during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China held at the Great Hall of the People in North China. Kinh, China, Sunday, October 16, 2022.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
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Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Attendees bowed to the moment of seeing off their fallen comrades during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China held at the Great Hall of the People in North China. Kinh, China, Sunday, October 16, 2022.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Taiwan
Mr. Xi hinted at putting more pressure on Taiwan. Taiwan has been the key location for all of China’s leaders since the Communist Party came to power in 1949 – but Xi Jinping has pressed it with a greater sense of urgency.
He said, “The wheels of history are turning towards China to unify and rejuvenate the Chinese nation. The complete reunification of our country must be done and it can be done, without a doubt. no doubt.”
Beijing considers the self-governing island part of China and wants to unify it with the mainland. The party considers this a sacred mission and Mr. Xi wants to be the leader to make it happen.
“We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we have the choice to do so.” all necessary measures,” he said.
Taiwan is a core issue in China-U.S. relations, there are get worse increased sharply in recent years. Taiwan friction has also increased, and some analysts say the risk of war will increase.
World
It seems that China’s global ambitions continue. A big part of Mr. Xi’s agenda over the past decade has been promoting “the wonderful rejuvenation of China“, and part of that has reclaimed what the party sees as China’s rightful place in the world.
Gone are the policies of Mr. Xi’s predecessors, who took a less assertive approach on the global stage, which have been calibrated to give China time and space to develop its economy. economy and build its power quietly.
Mr. Xi has repeated his mantra that this is a historic opportunity for China to enhance its standing and influence in the world.
At present, important changes that have not been seen in a century are accelerating around the world. “A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is well underway, and a significant shift is underway in the international balance of power, presenting China with strategic opportunities. in pursuit of development.”
And he said the party should cultivate a sense of “purpose, bravery, and conviction … so that we are not swayed by fallacies, intimidated by intimidation, or pressured”.
He reiterated China’s foreign policy principles – respect for other countries, independence and peace, and opposed “hegemonicism and power politics, Cold War mentality” and other standards. double standard.
