China Appoints Two Members Of The New Politburo Who Have Historical Ties To India

Chinese President Xi Jinping crams the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, or PBCS, with “friends.” The “young league faction” is eliminated with the departure of outgoing premier Li Keqiang and former deputy premier Wang Yang from the 20th Central Committee. Xi’s prominence was elevated further when he was acclaimed as the “People’s Leader.” The entire trade surplus between China and India exceeds $1 trillion. S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, outlines India’s China policy at a think tank gathering. British pilots assisted in China’s People’s Liberation Army training. This week’s key international events, including the 20th Party Congress held in Beijing, are covered by Chinascope.

China over the week

On October 23 at noon Beijing time, seven men entered a press conference room filled with both Chinese and foreign journalists. These men are members of the upcoming PBSC, the main decision-making body in China, along with General Secretary Xi Jinping.

After months of rumors, we now know that Xi has a large group of friends and allies in the PBSC. The other members include Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi in addition to Xi. The position of Shanghai party secretary has been transferred to Li Qiang, who will take over as China’s next premier. He hasn’t held the vice premiership prior to being nominated for the position of premier, hence the promotion is out of the ordinary.

The entire removal of two moderate candidates, Wang Yang and Hu Chunhua, from the nominations was even more shocking. Given that Hu Chunhua and Wang are neither members of the Central Committee nor the upcoming Politburo, Wang is now expected to retire. Li Keqiang will also be leaving the office soon. The tuan pai, or communist league faction, has been entirely marginalized with the removal of these three individuals from positions of authority.

A new 24-member Politburo was also unveiled on October 23 in addition to the PBSC. For India, there are a few direct repercussions.

Two members of the new Politburo have experience working with India, either directly or through another country. Wang Yi, a member of the State Council and the foreign minister, will take Yang Jiechi’s place as the next director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and sit on the new Politburo. The talks over the ongoing stalemate between India and China in Ladakh have been led by Wang Yi.

He Weidong, a different person, is slated to join the Politburo and take the vice chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. He was once the commander of the Eastern Theatre Command. He Weidong formerly held the position of Western Theatre Command Ground Force commander from July 2016 to December 2019. He was in charge during the Doklam impasse in 2017 and would have been in charge of the Chinese military’s movement ahead of the Eastern Ladakh confrontation in June 2020.

News Mania Desk