Meeting of China's leaders expected to cement Xi's grip on power | DW News

The top leaders of China's ruling Communist Party are holding a key meeting that’s expected to further tighten President Xi Jinping's grip on power. Behind closed doors, Xi is set to lay the groundwork for an unprecedented third term in office. That would cement his position as China’s most powerful leader in recent history.
Xi hasn't left China for over 21 months – partly because of COVID-19, but also because he's focused on building his power base at home.
The upcoming plenum is an opportunity to set the tone in his bid to become China's long-term ruler. His message for the domestic audience is China is a superpower, and the rest of the world better know it.
The plenum gathers 370 top Communist Party members from politics and the military. The most important item on the agenda is a resolution looking back at key events in the party's 100-year history.
It gives the ruling party the ability to shape the narrative of its history as the party sees fit, and enshrine president’s Xi’s role as leader.
It's only the third time this has happened. The previous two resolutions were introduced by the founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, and the architect of the economic reforms that boosted the Chinese economy into the world’s second biggest, Deng Xiaoping.
Xi wants to show that he is an equally important leader, transforming China into a global power. He wants to make his power felt all across Chinese society as well. He has boosted the military, and launched a crackdown that has muzzled the tech tycoons like Alibaba's Jack Ma.
In recent weeks, Xi has been stepping up pressure on the sovereign island of Taiwan, which China considers its own, and the world is watching how tensions unfold.
The plenum, which runs until Thursday, lays the groundwork for the crucial 20-22 party congress, where Xi is expected to secure his position for at least another five years.
He faces challenges. Economic growth is slowing down amid an energy crunch, supply chain disruption and fears of a crisis in the country's real estate sector. Challenges that need to be overcome if he is to prove himself equal to Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping.

Follow DW on social media:

#China #XiJinping #CommunistParty

[necbranduc]

3:11 Whoa, that guy in the background was really lucky that ice didn't hit him.

[AbhinavXevents]

Are we just gonna ignore what happened at 3:10?🤣

[AJ-happydad]

Could have fooled me I thought this was north Korea

[somerandomfella]

Q : What do you get when you mix ethnic Chinese with Democracy?
A : Taiwanese

[Ex.zed.]

Xi will be remembered as the Chinese dictator who banned Winnie the Pooh.

[loadedgun]

President for life lol, more like dictator for life

[ArioStarK]

All hail Xi Jin Pooh! There goes my social credit..

[sidguernsey]

Christopher Robin must be so proud :-)

[rucyaddm]

For him, the whole world is like honey, he desperately wants it.

[greencoffee]

He might as well just call himself emperor 😂

[Greenpoloboy]

0:40 Imagine Biden or Boris saying that...

[ercipi]

I wonder what happens when both Xi and Putin go away.

[nona]

Confirming a dictator is a logical step to take before initiating conflict.

[kool]

The world has to be safe from this dogping

[jimmydseeker]

President for life? If President Xi is the President for life then it is fine. He is a great leader and always put their people and country's interest first.

[jukio]

The west always talks about China, China China China. It just goes to show you how powerful China really is.

[mikicerise]

Oh, I'm very confident that Xi Jinping will show himself to be equal to Chairman Mao.

[dayangmarikit]

He might as well take the title "Emperor".

[Asherleo]

There is no such a thing as long term leader, since immortality hasn't been discovered yet. He is currently 68 years old.

[jasonhudry]

People make fun of him but he is literally one of the most powerful man on earth