Poised to take a groundbreaking third term in power, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has advanced a contingent of Communist Party loyalists ready to defend him, expand state influence over the economy and bolster national security.

Xi opened the new phase of his authoritarian rule with a clutch of victories at the end of a party congress on Saturday. He hurried into retirement two top officials from a more moderate political mould. He positioned allies to dominate the new leadership. He kept officials who promoted his muscular approach in diplomacy and the military. And Xi gave no hint of preparing for eventual retirement by anointing a likely successor.

“China has entered a new era of maximum Xi,” said Neil Thomas, an analyst of Chinese politics for the Eurasia Group. The outcome, Thomas added, “means more support for Xi’s policies, which means a stronger focus on political control, economic statism, and assertive diplomacy”.

Since taking over as party leader in late 2012, Xi has transformed China, purging potential rivals, crushing dissent and reasserting the central role of the Communist Party in Chinese society.

Xi’s progress toward his new term has been hampered this year by China’s painful economic slowdown, spreading public frustration over the country’s strict Covid rules, and rumours of internal opposition.

The congress, however, seemed to brush all that aside with regimented acclaim for Xi, urging the party’s members to stay in lockstep with him “in thought, politics and action”.

Xi’s keynote speech at the opening of the congress last Sunday signalled that he would press on with fortifying China against a plethora of perceived dangers.

That includes stepping up efforts to turn China into a leading technology power, and reducing reliance on Western know-how. He also said that China would continue upgrading its already formidable national security apparatus.

New York Times News Service