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The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing on October 16
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which has attracted worldwide attention, is scheduled to be held on October 16. Some scholars have described that the 20th Congress will be “the most influential in decades” because China and the world today are at the crossroads of history.
The National Congress is the highest leadership organ of the Communist Party of China. It has the highest decision-making power and supervision power, and is responsible for determining the lineup of the next party’s top leadership, the new succession system, and the direction of China’s major policies in the next few years.
Since 1982, the National Congress of the Communist Party of China has been held every five years, and the main topics vary from time to time.
What’s so special regarding the “Big Twenty”? What are the main points of view? Why should you and I be concerned? We teased out a few basic questions that many people are searching for.
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The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to be held in Beijing on October 16. This is the kite displayed at the 10th Beijing International Kite Festival.
What are the main agendas of the Big Twenty?
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, referred to as the “Twenty National Congress” of the Communist Party of China, is scheduled to open in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 16, 2022, and the duration of the conference is expected to be one week.
The main agenda is expected to include Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, making a work report on behalf of the 19th Central Committee, amending the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, and electing the 20th Central Committee and the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The first plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held the next day following the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Because it is a one-party dictatorship, it is widely believed that the top leadership of the CCP can actually be regarded as the top leadership of China.
The text of the Amendment to the Constitution passed in 2018 added a sentence following the second paragraph of Article 1: “The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics”, establishing the leadership of the Communist Party in the Basic Law.
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Visitors look at photos of Xi Jinping at the Chinese Communist Party Museum, which opened before the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in Beijing.
What’s so special regarding the Big Twenty?
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China coincides with the “big change” at the top of the Communist Party of China, and personnel changes have become the main focus of attention, especially whether Xi Jinping, who has been re-elected for two terms, will continue to serve.
For many years, China has implemented a top-level leadership succession system of “no more than two consecutive terms”. The so-called “big change” refers to the expiration of two terms of the top leader and should be replaced according to regulations, and the “small change” refers to the top leader. After one term expires, re-election is possible.
Xi Jinping served as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012 and was re-elected. At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, Xi Jinping remained in office without any suspense, which can be regarded as the “small change” of the CCP.
Xi Jinping has three important positions: President of the State, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and Chairman of the Military Commission. In principle, the latter two have no term limits.
In 2018, China’s National People’s Congress passed the “Amendment to the Constitution”, which removed the requirement that the country’s chairman and vice-chairmen should not be re-elected for more than two terms. It was interpreted as paving the way for Xi Jinping’s re-election as the third party general secretary.。
In 2021, the “Sixth Plenary Session” of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China passed the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party’s Hundred Years of Struggle”, which observers called the third historic resolution in the 100-year history of the CPC, making Xi Jinping re-elected. The possibility of a third general secretary is more clear.
If the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China revises the “Party Constitution” once more, essentially removing the restriction of no more than two consecutive terms, then the highest power transfer system within the CCP will also change, and the “abolition of the lifelong system of cadre leadership positions” that has been implemented for many years will become history.
Also, there are age limits for members of the Politburo Standing Committee: those 67 or younger are eligible for re-election, while those 68 and older are no longer eligible.
He has repeatedly stressed that the party commands everything, including the army. On August 1, 2022, the Army Day, the magazine Qiushi published a speech by Xi Jinping, in which it mentioned, “We must unswervingly uphold the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and ensure that the people’s army will always follow the Party.”
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Why is the Big Twenty important?
The newly elected lineup of the CCP’s top decision-making circle following the 20th National Congress will set the tone for China in the next five years.
Some scholars have described the 20th National Congress as a historic meeting with “the most impact in decades” because China and today’s world are both at the crossroads of history.
Looking back on 1978, the CCP also came to a crossroads. At that time, Mao Zedong’s extreme line was overthrown at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
That meeting changed China, and it changed the world. “Reform and opening up” has made China’s economy take off, becoming the world’s factory, a huge consumer market, and a major investment destination for developing countries. Its economy ranks second in the world following the United States.
Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s domestic and foreign affairs were faced with various uncertainties, especially the direction of reform and opening up in the “Deng Core” era, which caused a lot of anxiety.
In the past decade, many of the policies of the Xi Jinping government are considered to be a reversal of reform and opening up, squeezing the private economy, causing “the state to advance and the people to retreat”, and further restricting the individual freedom of citizens.
The impact of the new crown epidemic and the “dynamic zero” insisted on by the Xi Jinping government have made China’s economic outlook increasingly grim.
Internationally, a tough foreign policy has led to tensions between China and the Western bloc, and more and more government and corporate policymakers are starting to re-examine their China strategies.
In addition, China’s military exercises around the Taiwan Strait have also aroused the vigilance of all parties. Whether Xi Jinping will be determined to resolve the Taiwan issue and achieve what he calls “the great cause of reunification” during his tenure has drawn more attention.
Whether Xi Jinping, who decides the major policies of the CCP, will be re-elected for three consecutive terms at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the trend of China’s domestic and foreign affairs in the next five years or more will affect everyone.
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What is the National Congress of the Communist Party of China?
The National Congress is the highest leadership organ of the CCP, with the highest decision-making and supervision powers. The National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held every five years. It listens to the work report of the previous session, elects a new Central Committee, and then produces a new top leadership.
Article 19 of the current version of the Party Constitution stipulates that the Party’s National Congress has six functions and powers:
- Hearing and examining the reports of the Central Committee;
- Hearing and reviewing the reports of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection;
- Discuss and decide on major issues for the party;
- Amend the party constitution;
- Election of the Central Committee;
- Election of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Why is the National Congress of the Communist Party of China held every five years?
Before 1982, the time of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China was irregular.
The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held secretly in the French Concession in Shanghai on July 23, 1921. On July 30, the meeting was adjourned following the venue was searched by the patrol house in the concession, and closed on August 3 in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. A major convening announced the official establishment of the Communist Party of China.
During the war years, it was difficult to hold regular national congresses. According to the website of the CCP Memorabilia, the longest interval between two national congresses in the history of the party was 11 years – the “Seventh National Congress” of the Communist Party of China in 1945 and the “Eighth National Congress” of the Communist Party of China in 1956.
The “Eighth National Congress” decided to hold a national congress every five years. In 1969, the “Ninth National Congress” wrote this article into the “Party Constitution”, stipulating that only in special circumstances can the national congress be held earlier or later.
At that time, it was the ten-year “Cultural Revolution” (1966 – 1976), China’s “Tenth National Congress” (1973) and “Eleventh National Congress” (1977) were held in advance. After the second major”.