Day: October 15, 2022

As it happened: China’s 20th Communist Party national congress opens in Beijing

Chin@Strategy

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party, China’s most consequential political event in a decade, starts today at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The twice-a-decade gathering will usher in Xi Jinping’s precedent-breaking third term as the party’s general secretary, as well as a new 300-strong Central Committee, the party’s top policymaking body. It will produce sweeping changes at the top as Xi builds a new…

Beijing Turns Into a Fortress Ahead of the Communist Party Congress

Chin@Strategy

BEIJING — They lounge in folding chairs, perch on traffic bollards or pace small circles to keep warm. They are stationed every 100 feet or so, keeping watch over their designated patch of Beijing street. Their bright red wind-breakers and matching armbands spell out their roles as “Neighborhood Security Volunteers.” Their mission is straightforward: guarantee that nothing disrupts an all-important Chinese Communist Party congress that begins Sunday, where the top leader, Xi Jinping, is expected to claim a third term. The volunteers, who have blanketed Beijing in recent days, are…

The most powerful man in China since Mao: Xi Jinping is on the brink of total power

Chin@Strategy

This week in Beijing, Xi Jinping will preside over one of his country’s great shows of political theatre and seal a long-planned political triumph, consolidating his power and extending his rule. The Chinese Communist party is poised to formally hand Xi another five years as party boss, and therefore leader of the country, at a summit that will also move his allies into key roles and elevate the status of his writings on power and government. The 20th Party Congress will – barring unprecedented last-minute drama – confirm him as…