FILE – Delegates raise their hands to show approval of work reports during the closing ceremony for the 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. China’s ruling Communist Party is holding its twice-a-decade national congress starting Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. That’s where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term as the uncontested head of the party, government and military of the world’s second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
The proceedings surrounding the event are shrouded in secrecy, as is typical in China’s authoritarian one-party state. But the weeklong congress, the 20th in its more than 100-year history, is expected to produce a new set of leaders handpicked by Xi, who faces no term limits and has yet to indicate a successor after a decade in the top spot.
FILE – Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as performers dance at a gala show ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on June 28, 2021. When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, it wasn’t clear what kind of leader he would be. His low-key persona during a steady rise through the ranks of the Communist Party gave no hint that he would evolve into one of modern China’s most dominant leaders, or that he would put the economically and militarily ascendant country on a collision course with the U.S.-led international order. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
The 96 million-member party is led by a Central Committee and Politburo. Their top cadres, who now number seven, form the powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Visitors wear masks as visit the Forbidden city in the Tiananmen area where the upcoming 20th Community Party Congress will be held in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. No significant changes to the political or economic system are expected during the meeting. Using a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign and relentless crackdown on dissidents and free speech, President Xi Jinping has eliminated virtually all opposition and placed loyalists in most of the key positions. Yet his hard-line “zero-COVID” policy that has placed tens of millions under quarantine, severely restricted travel and imposed a growing economic cost has sparked rare protests. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
WHAT IS AT STAKE AT THIS YEAR’S MEETING?
No significant changes to the political or economic system are expected. Using a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign and relentless crackdown on dissidents and free speech, Xi has eliminated virtually all opposition and placed loyalists in most of the key positions.
A police officer stands on duty near the portrait of former leader Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. China’s ruling Communist Party is holding its twice-a-decade national congress starting Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. That’s where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term as the uncontested head of the party, government and military of the world’s second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Yet his hard-line “zero-COVID” policy that has placed tens of millions under quarantine, severely restricted travel and imposed a growing economic cost has sparked rare protests, including the appearance of anti-Xi banners in Beijing’s high-tech business district of Haidian this week.
FILE – Visitors wearing face masks tour an exhibition highlighting President Xi Jinping and his China’s achievements under his leadership at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in the capital city where the 20th Party Congress will be held in Beijing on Oct. 12, 2022. When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, it wasn’t clear what kind of leader he would be. His low-key persona during a steady rise through the ranks of the Communist Party gave no hint that he would evolve into one of modern China’s most dominant leaders, or that he would put the economically and militarily ascendant country on a collision course with the U.S.-led international order. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Authorities refused to comment on the incident and shut down all discussion about it on the internet — the only sphere of public life where criticism of the regime is possible, at least until party censors move in.
Xi’s administration says such tight COVID-19 controls are the only way to prevent a wider outbreak in the world’s most populous nation.
FILE – Female ethnic minority delegates hold their ballot folders on the steps of the Great Hall of the People after the closing ceremony of China’s 19th Party Congress in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2017. The Communist party and the congress’s makeup remain heavily dominated by men from China’s main Han ethnic group. Women and members of minority groups account for 27% and 11.5% of representatives respectively, according to the official state news agency, Xinhua. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
HOW WILL THE CONGRESS AFFECT CHINA GLOBALLY?
China’s more assertive foreign policy, sometimes described as the “wolf warrior” approach based on the name of a popular action film, has prompted a backlash from the U.S., Europe and regional neighbors. China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea has raised tensions with fellow claimants, the U.S. and others, while its forces have clashed with Indian troops along their disputed border.
Chinese security personnel guard Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People where the upcoming 20th Party Congress will be held in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. China’s ruling Communist Party is holding its twice-a-decade national congress starting Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. That’s where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term as the uncontested head of the party, government and military of the world’s second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
That’s also focused attention on China’s threat to invade the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan to bring it under its control, a move that would draw in the U.S. and allies such as Japan and Australia.
FILE – Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as Type 99A2 Chinese battle tanks take part in a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015. China’s more assertive foreign policy, sometimes described as the “wolf warrior” approach based on the name of a popular action film, has prompted a backlash from the U.S., Europe and regional neighbors. China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea has raised tensions with fellow claimants, the U.S. and others, while its forces have clashed with Indian troops along their disputed border. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Xi has shown no sign of a change in foreign policy direction, although China’s sharply reduced economic growth rate and challenges facing his signature “Belt and Road” foreign investment program are seen as reducing his leverage. The internment of more than 1 million Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and the quashing of opposition voices and free speech in Hong Kong have also drawn broad criticism abroad, placing many local leaders under U.S., U.K. and EU travel and financial restrictions.
FILE – In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his premier Li Keqiang, center right, meet with representatives of model civil servants during a national award ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 30, 2022. When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, it wasn’t clear what kind of leader he would be. His low-key persona during a steady rise through the ranks of the Communist Party gave no hint that he would evolve into one of modern China’s most dominant leaders, or that he would put the economically and militarily ascendant country on a collision course with the U.S.-led international order. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP, File)
WHO IS REPRESENTED AT THE CONGRESS?
State media report that 2,296 representatives were “elected” to the congress. All candidates are carefully vetted and no open campaigning is allowed. Of those, 771 are described as frontline party members who hold jobs outside of the party bureaucracy, either in the armed forces, which functions as the party’s military branch, or in agriculture or technical professions.
Visitors wear masks as they walk on Tiananmen Square across from the Great Hall of the People where the upcoming 20th Communist Party Congress will be held in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. China’s ruling Communist Party is holding its twice-a-decade national congress starting Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. That’s where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term as the uncontested head of the party, government and military of the world’s second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The party and the congress’s makeup remain heavily dominated by men from China’s main Han ethnic group. Women and members of minority groups account for 27% and 11.5% of representatives respectively, according to the official state news agency, Xinhua.
FILE – A man rests next a video screen showing Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a rifle at an exhibition highlighting China’s achievements under five years of his leadership at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing on Oct. 23, 2017. China’s more assertive foreign policy, sometimes described as the “wolf warrior” approach based on the name of a popular action film, has prompted a backlash from the U.S., Europe and regional neighbors. China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea has raised tensions with fellow claimants, the U.S. and others, while its forces have clashed with Indian troops along their disputed border. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Following what is expected to be a lengthy policy address Sunday, the congress will be conducted mainly behind closed doors.
FILE – Hostesses wearing face masks wait to guide at an exhibition highlighting President Xi Jinping and his China’s achievements under his leadership at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in the capital city where the 20th Party Congress will be held in Beijing on Oct. 12, 2022. When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, it wasn’t clear what kind of leader he would be. His low-key persona during a steady rise through the ranks of the Communist Party gave no hint that he would evolve into one of modern China’s most dominant leaders, or that he would put the economically and militarily ascendant country on a collision course with the U.S.-led international order. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
If past protocols are followed, the new leadership will be unveiled the day after the congress closes, with is highest-ranking members emerging from behind a curtain to take their places in the hierarchy based on their distance to the left and right of Xi.
FILE – Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, center, waves as he stands with new members of the Politburo Standing Committee Zhang Dejiang, left, and Li Keqiang in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Nov. 15, 2012. When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, it wasn’t clear what kind of leader he would be. His low-key persona during a steady rise through the ranks of the Communist Party gave no hint that he would evolve into one of modern China’s most dominant leaders, or that he would put the economically and militarily ascendant country on a collision course with the U.S.-led international order. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
