Daily News Brief November 15, 2012 |
Top of the Agenda: China Passes Reins to Older, More Conservative Leadership
China's
ruling Communist Party concluded its Eighteenth National Congress on
Thursday, unveiling what commentators say is an older, more conservative leadership (Reuters)lineup
in the seven-person Politburo Standing Committee led by new party chief
Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang. Most notably, two candidates with
strong reform credentials—Guangdong party boss Wang Yang and party
organization head Li Yuanchao—missed the cut, along with the sole woman
candidate Liu Yandong. Observers say the new leadership, which includes
North Korea-educated Zhang Dejiang, favors cautious economic reforms (BBC) and will likely steer clear of any radical policy changes.
Analysis
"Let's face it. China's 18th Party Congress was a heartbreaker.
In terms of personnel, it was a triumph of the Party's conservative
clique; and in terms of policy, it was a victory for more of the same.
It didn't have to be that way, but the Party elders elected to preserve
their legacy at the expense of opening the door to real change," writes
CFR's Elizabeth Economy.
"In recent years, the notion of "political reform"
became a kind of taboo subject. The mere suggestion of it was
considered risky, let alone any meaningful discourse on viable
frameworks. Leftists would be very happy to completely eliminate the
concept from their vocabulary. The fact that the party congress report
contains the idea sends a clear signal that there is no question about
the necessity of political reform. What is open for discussion now is
how current institutions can reform. People who care about political
reform must spot the trends and ride the tide," writes Hu Shuli of Caixin.
"The
new line-up shows that 86-year old former leader Jiang Zemin still has
important influence, because at least four out of seven new members are
widely seen as his allies. Meanwhile the outgoing leader Hu Jintao's
three allies - Li Yuanchao, Liu Yuandong and Wang Yang - did not make it
into the Standing Committee. Mr. Hu has also given up his post as the
chairman of the Central Military Commission, indicating he will fully
retire from his political posts and stay away from political life too.
The prospect of political reform now looks more unlikely as most of the
new leaders are regarded as political conservatives," writes Raymond Li for the BBC.
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