The 20th Communist Party Congress begins in Beijing

The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress kicked off on Sunday in Beijing, with police out in full force to ensure that no further incidents would disrupt the twice-a-decade gathering of the country’s most important political leaders.

In a nearly two-hour-long opening address, General Secretary Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 delivered his political report (政治報告 zhèngzhì bàogào), in which he laid out the Communist Party’s agenda and key priorities for the next five years.

• Read a full-text version (available in both English and Chinese) of the political report from Wall Street Journal reporter Chun Han Wong per NPC Observer.
• The speech was noticeably shorter than the one Xi delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on October 18, 2017. The full document is available at this link.

The officially-circulated set piece photo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing (see above) shows Xi right in the middle, under the Party’s emblematic hammer and sickle. As the Congress continues, observers will continue to speculate on leadership changes, but the people who have made it into this photo are:

• On the left going outward from Xi are current Politburo Standing Committee members Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强, Wāng Yáng 汪洋, and Zhào Lèjì 赵乐际.
• On the right going outward are former Party general secretary Hú Jǐntāo 胡锦涛,and current Politburo Standing Committee members Lì Zhànshū 栗战书, Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁, and Hán Zhèng 韩正.

The photo was circulated by all official media, and printed on the the People’s Daily front page on October 17. See the same set piece photo from the 19th Party Congress on October 18, 2017 — with a slightly different cast of characters.

Continuity was the main takeaway on all the hot-button issues, though Xi did not mention the current issues connected to Xinjiang and the treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China.

• No pivot from COVID zero: Xi praised the pandemic policy as the “people’s war to stop the spread of the virus,” the latest signal that there will be no immediate change despite the swirling speculations for an ease in restrictions leading up to the congress.
• Tough talk on Taiwan: “We insist on striving for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and best efforts, but we will never promise to give up the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures,” Xi said, while also condemning any acts of “interference” from external forces. Taipei responded saying it “will not back down” on its stance on sovereignty or democracy.
• Homegrown tech, self-reliance, and national strength: “We will focus on national strategic needs, gather strength to carry out indigenous and leading scientific and technological research, and resolutely win the battle in key core technologies,” Xi said, just a week after Biden unveiled sweeping new rules that restrict chip exports to China.
• Hong Kong as a reformed society: Xi heralded the Chinese city’s return from “chaos to governance” under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law and the “one country, two systems” policy.
• No end to corruption crackdown: “Corruption is the biggest cancer that harms the vitality and combat effectiveness of the Party, and anti-corruption is the most thorough self-revolution. As long as there is the soil and conditions for corruption, the fight against corruption will not stop for a moment,” Xi said. His vow was further supported in a speech this morning by Xiào Péi 肖培, the deputy secretary of the Party’s Committee for Discipline and Inspection, where he stated that the Communist Party has investigated almost 5 million members for possible corruption over the last decade since Xi came to power.
• Development is still key: Xi reiterated that development is a “top priority,” but that China will “better leverage the fundamental role of consumption in stimulating economic growth” and tackle “unbalanced development.”

China today also delayed the publication of its third-quarter GDP data a day before it was set to be released, the National Bureau of Statistics announced, without giving any reason or a new release date.

• The move follows comments made this morning by Zhào Chénxīn 赵辰昕, the deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), stating that China’s economy “rebounded significantly” in the third quarter.

Later this week, the 2,300 or so delegates are expected to vote members into various leadership positions — including the all-important Politburo Standing Committee — and expected to elect Xi into his unprecedented third term as China’s most powerful leader since Máo Zédōng 毛泽东.