China formally lifts Xi Jinping's status to most powerful leader in decades

Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping raises hand to take a vote
Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping raises hand to take a vote Credit: EPA/WU HONG

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has been elevated to the same political league as Mao Tse-tung as China’s Communist Party enshrined his ideology into the constitution.

The move is being seen as a significant break with the past in China, which is said to be ruled by collective responsibility and consensus among top leaders since Mao’s death in 1976.

With the party’s support firmly behind him, Mr Xi will now be emboldened to continue his strong style of authoritarian rule at home and muscular foreign policy abroad.

There is growing speculation that Mr Xi is seeking to break with precedent and extend his power beyond two five-year terms.

Any attempt to do so would now be made easier, given Mr Xi’s pre-eminent position in the constitution. 

Only Mao, who is considered the founding father of modern China, had his ideology enshrined into the party constitution when he was still alive. 

Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s reforms, received the honour after he died.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) raises his hand to vote for the reports with China's former presidents Jiang Zemin (R) and Hu Jintao (L) at the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress
Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) raises his hand to vote for the reports with China's former presidents Jiang Zemin (R) and Hu Jintao (L) at the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images

Other leaders Hu Jintao and Zhang Zemin also had their guiding thoughts included into the constitution, but without their names attached and after they served as president.

“This is Xi’s era – and it's an era he has created for himself,” said well-known Beijing-based political commentator Zhang Lifan.

"Mao had to wait 24 years until he had his ideology included in the constitution," he added, referring to the period after the revolutionary leader seized power in 1949. 

"But for Xi it was only five.”

The party on Tuesday unanimously passed an amendment to include "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" as one of its guiding principles.

It was agreed by a unanimous vote on the final day of the Communist Party’s congress, which was being held in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People.

It gives greater powers to the ruling Communist Party, particularly with regards to China’s rapidly modernising military. 

A report by Chinese news agency Xinhua said: “(It) also included Xi's military thinking and the Party's 'absolute' leadership over the armed forces."

It also incorporated Mr Xi’s war on corruption and his signature foreign policy initiative, the Belt and Road initiative, an investment scheme which spans three continents.

However, some experts raised challenges that Mr Xi would face in strengthening Communist Party rule over China during his second term.

Delegates attending the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing
Delegates attending the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images

China has emerged as the world’s second biggest economy, but Beijing is struggling to pull millions out of poverty.

The country has also produced a free-spending generation of wealthy urban middle classes whose lifestyles are distant from Communist ideology. 

“The challenge the party has of how it relates to people's daily lives remains,” said Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese Studies at King's College London and a former British diplomat in Beijing.

Hostesses jump in the air on Tiananmen square during the closing session of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing
Hostesses jump in the air on Tiananmen square during the closing session of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing Credit: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

“We are seeing a parallel universe in China - an elite, somewhat self-enclosed festival in Beijing in a country largely indifferent to its ideology. 

“The real challenge for Mr Xi, now he has all this party power and ideological status, is how does he and his colleagues translate it into something that matters outside the grand walls of the Great Hall of the People.”

Delegates leave the hall after the closing ceremony of the 19th National Congress
Delegates leave the hall after the closing ceremony of the 19th National Congress Credit: EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

The congress’ final day also saw confirmation that Wang Qishan, Mr Xi’s graft buster, will not be on the new Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China’s cabinet, which is announced on Wednesday.

Some had predicted that Mr Xi might bend the unwritten retirement rules for top officials to keep his key ally in the group, which is the apex of political power in China.

Observers will be closely watching Wednesday’s unveiling of the new PSC to identify if Mr Xi fails to appoint any officials young enough to succeed him after 2022.

License this content