DW News published this video item, entitled “What does Xi’s expansion of power mean for China’s future? | DW News” – below is their description.
Xi Jinping is set to become the most powerful leader in China since Mao. What does that mean for the country?
On Sunday, President Xi Jinping struck a triumphant tone in his speech at the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by highlighting what he said were the party’s achievements over the last five years. Additionally, Xi promised a series of reforms and changes that he said he hopes will direct China toward the goal of national rejuvenation.
Speaking in front of around 2,300 delegates in the Great Hall of the People, Xi defended China’s zero-COVID strategy, saying the pandemic control measures had “protected people’s lives and health.”
He also justified his hard-line policies towards Hong Kong, saying the move to impose the “patriots rule” — which allows a pro-China panel to vet candidates and elect only those to parliament who are deemed loyal to Beijing — in the former British colony had helped turn the situation in Hong Kong from “chaos to governance.”
Xi also said that while Beijing would strive for peaceful reunification with Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China views as its territory, it would never renounce the option of using force to achieve that goal.
“The wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the complete reunification of the motherland must be achieved and can definitely be achieved,” he affirmed.
Speech could have been more confrontational
Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer in Taiwan Studies at the Australian National University (ANU) and currently based in Taipei, said Xi’s speech was a lot less escalatory than some analysts might have been expecting. “He talks about the ‘complete reunification of the motherland ought to happen’ and ‘must happen,’ but he is very vague on how he intends to make it happen,” the lecturer told DW.
“While some Taiwanese observers fear Xi could be laying out specific new strategies to solve the Taiwan problem, Xi’s speech signals a greater desire to hold onto continuity rather than change. He talked about firm resolve and strong capabilities to oppose Taiwan’s independence, but he didn’t talk about intent, plan, or timetable. The intent is to make it even more ambiguous as to the timeline and urgency of unification with Taiwan,” he added. Apart from emphasizing the CCP’s success in overcoming challenges, Xi also highlighted “rapid changes in the international situation,” praising the party’s efforts to “uphold international fairness and justice, advocate the practice of genuine multilateralism, and clearly oppose all hegemonism and power politics.”
As geopolitical tension between China and US-led Western countries rises, Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore (NUS), says the emphasis on multilateralism means China will continue to challenge and compete with the United States. “When talking about multilateralism, it often means Beijing will work through international institutions, notably UN agencies, to counter what it sees as US influence,” he told DW.
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