the chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled his top leadership team for the next five years on Sunday, culminating in months of preparations behind closed doors as he begins a third term surrounded by allies – further consolidating his power.
The new members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the most powerful decision-making body in the China walked the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in ranked order – publicly revealing for the first time the faces that will be at the top of the party over the next half-decade.
The standing committee is formally appointed by a vote of the party’s newly formed Central Committee, its 205-member leadership body.
See below for the seven members of the Standing Committee, in rank order – the same order they entered the stage.
Xi Jinping, 69: China’s supreme leader is starting a third term as head of the Communist Party, breaking a recent precedent by securing another five years in power.
Li Qiang, 63 : Shanghai’s party chief is set to become China’s next prime minister in March after incumbent Li Keqiang steps down. It is the highest position after Xi Jinping.
Zhao Leji, 65 : Hailing from Xi’s ancestral home province, Zhao is currently head of the Communist Party’s anti-corruption body.
Wang Huning, 67 : Wang is an extremely influential Party theorist who wrote policies for Xi and his predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin.
Cai Qi, 66: Cai is the party boss in Beijing and one of Xi’s most trusted confidants, with ties dating back to Xi’s time in the southern province of Fujian. Cai supervised the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Li Xi, 66: Li is the current party chief of Guangdong Province, southern China’s economic engine. A trusted ally of Xi, he is expected to oversee the anti-corruption organization.
Ding Xuexiang, 60: Xi’s chief of staff and close aide was widely seen as a top candidate despite his lack of experience as a provincial-level party chief or governor.
Of these members, Li Qiang, Cai Qi, Li Xi and Ding Xuexiang are newly appointed; the others are holders.
Past Standing Committee lineups have included younger members and potential successors — but with the youngest member at age 60 this time around, there’s no clear successor in the mix, a potential sign that Xi won’t be stepping down anytime soon.
(Posted by Anna Gabriela Costa of CNN)
Source: CNN Brasil
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