China unveils new leadership line-up with no clear successor to Xi Jinping

Xi and Premier Li Keqiang were the only members of the previous PSC to retain their posts while all the new appointees are aged above 60.

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China’s new Politburo Standing Committee members in Beijing on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters)

With little indication of who might succeed him five years from now, Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday announced his leadership team with five new appointments to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). Following a closed-door vote, Xi was also re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for another five-year term as well as Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Xi and Premier Li Keqiang were the only members of the previous PSC to retain their posts while all the new appointees are aged above 60. This means none of the members on the PSC will be young enough to take over as General Secretary of the CPC in 2022. According to the party’s norms, candidates need to retire once past the age of 68.

While Xi was elevated to the PSC under then President Hu Jintao in 2007 at 54, Hu was appointed to the PSC under Jiang Zemin in 1992 when he was 50. The new team was announced a day after Xi’s name was enshrined in the constitution of the CPC. Xi became the only leader after Chairman Mao Zedong to have his name included in the CPC charter in his lifetime.

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Other than Xi and Li, the new PSC comprises Li Zhanshu, 67, Han Zheng, 63, Wang Yang, 62, Wang Huning, 62 and Zhao Leji, 60, who will head China’s top anti-graft body. This also marks the first time that all members of the PSC have been born after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and began their political careers after China announced reforms in the 1970s.

“I was re-elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee,” Xi said Wednesday. “I see this as not just approval of my work, but also encouragement that will spur me on.” He thanked the CPC for the trust placed in the new leadership and vowed to work diligently to “meet our duty, fulfil our mission and be worthy of their trust.”

According to Xi, the next five years will mark several important events and junctures.

“Not only must we deliver the first centenary goal, we must also embark on the journey toward the second centenary goal…the Party must remain committed to a people-centric philosophy of development and make steady progress toward enhancing the people’s sense of fulfilment and realising common prosperity for everyone,” he said.

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The CPC will mark its centenary in 2021 by when the party aims to fulfill the creation of a moderately prosperous society and eradicate poverty.

Xi encouraged the press to follow China’s development and progress, and learn about and report on more dimensions of China. “We do not need lavish praise from others, however, we do welcome objective reporting and constructive suggestions, for this is our motto: ‘Not angling for compliments, I would be content that my integrity fills the universe’,” Xi said.

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