”Sense Of Inevitability As China Party Congress Begins’

NEW DELHI: As China’s 20th Party Congress gets underway in Beijing, there’s a sense of inevitability about Xi Jinping getting his third term. He’s stacked the deck for it over the last many months, elevating favourites, displacing rivals and eliminating every other obstacle to what he probably sees as his right. In this conversation on The Gist, Jayadeva Ranade, president of the Centre for China Analysis & Strategy, argues that the Chinese president has had enough time to get his “third act” through. While no overt opposition is visible, he’s probably more focused on those who are lying low, which could include even former presidents and politburo members. The army remains on his side as Xi not only sits at the top of the Central Military Commission, he has had a key role in selecting and promoting key officers for higher ranks. No public resistance is expected because people tend to avoid anything political, which would draw the attention of the security agencies.