The list of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee is about to be announced. People with close ties to the CPC’s high-level officials revealed that General Secretary Xi Jinping plans to promote Li Qiang, Li Xi, Ding Xuexiang and other confidants, and Li Qiang is more likely to take over the premiership of the State Council to strengthen Xi Jinping’s response Ability to challenge at home and abroad.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Xi is likely to send Li Qiang, the 63-year-old leader of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, to the Politburo Standing Committee, a person familiar with the matter said.
Many people will be surprised if Li Qiang “enters the permanent world”. This year, the outbreak of new crown pneumonia in Shanghai was out of control, forcing the city government to impose a city closure order, which not only caused public grievances online, but also provoked physical conflicts between the public and epidemic prevention personnel. Therefore, some experts predict that Li Qiang has lost his chance to join the Politburo Standing Committee.
Chen Gang, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, said that if Li Qiang became prime minister, it would strengthen Xi’s control over economic and social policymaking. Chen Gang expects that China will continue to promote reform and opening up, but at a slower pace, and the government will continue to implement the “zero” policy. Li Qiang may have to rely on stimulus policies to boost the economy.
Experts say other candidates to replace Li Keqiang include Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Hu Chunhua, vice-premier. In recent decades, successive Chinese prime ministers have served as vice-premiers, and Wang Yang and Hu Chunhua meet this criterion.
However, some foreign officials and scholars see Wang Yang and Hu Chunhua as benchmarks for liberal reforms and support for market principles. Although both openly support Xi’s policies, they are not considered part of Xi’s circle. A source close to the top officials of the CCP revealed that Hu Chunhua may not be able to join the Politburo Standing Committee.
Other potential candidates for the Politburo Standing Committee include Ding Xuexiang, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Li Xi, secretary of the Guangdong provincial party committee. Ding Xuexiang is expected to be named executive vice-premier of the State Council early next year, with Li Xi likely to take over as secretary of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission, people familiar with the matter said.
People close to senior Communist Party officials said Xi would not promote any potential successor to the Politburo Standing Committee so as not to undermine the authority of his top leader.