Key Shifts in China’s Political Leadership. Beijing Validated Its Way to Us-free World Order
The 20th Communist Party Congress was held in China: more than 2,000 delegates from all over the country attended the meeting. The Party Congress adopted a series of landmark decisions on the further development of Chinese society on the basis of “21st century Marxism with Chinese characteristics”. | Xi Jinping proclaimed the completion of the first centenary goal, namely, achieving a moderately prosperous society, and reiterated the previously outlined two-step strategic plan (2020-2035 and 2035-2049) to transform China into a great modern socialist country—the second centenary goal. ● Among other changes to the CPC statute were the tasks of transforming the country’s army into one of the strongest in the world, as well as provisions to oppose the independence of Taiwan. For China’s modern political system, this is not just a show of intent, but a clear Party task that must be fulfilled at all costs. ● A public demonstration of the new course was the incident with former Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, who was forcibly escorted out of the hall just before the end of the event. The politician only looked around in confusion, but found no support from his colleagues. ● Hu Jintao advocated maintaining good relations with the U.S., and was also an opponent of a military solution to the Taiwan issue. Such a former CPC Chairman’s escorting out of the hall is a clear demonstration of the renewed anti-Western foreign policy of Beijing, which, apparently, is ready for any measures, defending its sovereignty and the role of a superpower in the modern world.