Beijing [China], October 21 (ANI): Chinese President Xi Jinping, under the garb of an anti-corruption drive, crushed his rivals and ensured the development of a party hierarchy which is centred on his cult of personality, media reports said.

Bo Xilai, a former Politburo member, who was most active in challenging Xi’s claim to the position of the supreme leader went out of his way to create his own personality cult. However, in carrying out his cult politics, Xilai had upset some party members.

However, President Xi Jinping took an entirely different approach. Xi did not make his cult politics look obvious. He was rather known as a careful technocrat, reported an Italian media outlet difesa online. When Xi took office as president, he was worried about the difficult internal circumstances. Chinese wealth encouraged many influential factions within the Party to fuel widespread forms of corruption. Now, Xi Jinping in order to restore unity and avoid being remembered as a relatively weak leader had to crack down on the corrupt cadres.

This is exactly what Xi Jinping pledged to do at the time of his inauguration and over the next few years. In the course of accomplishing all this initially, he made new enemies, however, he then leveraged the success of his anti-corruption efforts to crush rivals.

He then gradually ensured the development of a party hierarchy centred on the cult of his person. Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has investigated nearly five million people over the past decade, the ruling Communist Party’s senior anti-corruption official said.

The party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection held a media briefing on Monday where the members explained their achievements over the past 10 years, NHK World reported. This meeting was held on the sidelines of the party’s 20th national congress.

They said more than 4.64 million members have been probed for possible corruption and other lapses of discipline. Xiao Pei, deputy secretary of the commission, pledged to continue the crackdown on corruption among party and government leaders. Xiao said the party is determined to win a fight against corruption by maintaining discipline, reported NHK World.

Xi’s anti-corruption campaign, one of the key policies has reportedly helped strengthen his political base. Former members of the party leadership and emerging next-generation leaders were among those targeted in the anti-graft drive. Xi, who is expected to secure a third term as party leader, appears determined to further solidify his grip on power. Xi said in a report that the party will never rest in its fight against corruption, according to NHK World. (ANI)

Xi’s narratives indicate China unlikely to embrace rapid foreign policy changes, says expert

Beijing [China], October 20 (ANI): Ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the opening event of the 20th National Congress, China analysts are looking for answers to better understand the mind of all-powerful leader who is set to enter his third term.

Regional experts say Xi will either be re-elected as general secretary of the CCP or will be newly elected as chairman of the CCP, a title that has lain dormant since 1982 and was once the highest position ever held by Mao Zedong.

The congress is taking place at one of the most perilous periods in world affairs in recent years. Also, inadequate economic performance and zero-covid policy have received flak. Writing for the Asia Times, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies, The University of Western Australia, Yu Tao said many foreign policy narratives in this year’s report are similar or identical to those in his 2017 report. This includes key phrases such as upholding world peace, promoting common development, and working to build a community with a shared future for humankind.”

“The continuity in Xi’s narratives indicates China is unlikely to embrace rapid foreign policy changes in the foreseeable future. Keeping the existing foreign policy narratives may also be a deliberate choice. After all, Xi is widely expected to secure a historic third term as China’s top leader, so his policies will likely stay,” he said in an article first published in The Conversation.

According to Yu, China President’s report that he presented to the CCP members indicates China will not only look after its own security but also work on common security, primarily through the Global Security Initiative raised by Xi in April 2022. “It will likely become China’s new foreign policy framework to take on the US’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which China believes aims to contain China and attempts to make Asia-Pacific countries ‘pawns’ of US hegemony,” he adds.

On Sunday, Xi Jinping opened the ruling Communist Party’s twice-a-decade National Congress. Analysts say that Xi will undoubtedly extend his term in power for another five years. Confirmation of Xi Jinping’s third term will be an ominous moment not only for China but for the world, according to Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Hana Young.

“Confirmation of Xi Jinping’s third term will be an ominous moment not only for the millions of Chinese citizens who have suffered grave human rights violations under his rule, but also for people around the world who feel the impact of the Chinese government’s repression,” Hana Young said in a statement on October 15. “President Xi’s decade in power has been characterized by sweeping arbitrary detentions, a ruthless nationwide crackdown on freedom of expression and association, crimes against humanity against Muslims in the Xinjiang region, and a dramatic escalation of repression in Hong Kong,” she added.

Further slamming China’s repressive policies, Young said the government’s policies and practices under Xi’s leadership pose a threat to rights not just at home, but globally. (ANI)