Chinese President Xi Jinping has replaced a number of CCP’s Central Committee (CC) members since assuming power, as per the media report.

As per the report, the removal of members has been carried out to ensure that those who remain in the CCP’s Central Committee are loyal only to him and to remove the influence of his predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. The report goes on to add that even promotions approved by Xi are done to ensure that those who qualify by military rank to get elevated to CC are his loyalists and can continue serving him for the next decade and more.

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This is being done to allow Xi to carry out the necessary reforms within the PLA.

Last month, in a webinar entitled “Towards Xi’s Third Term: China’s 20th Party Congress and Beyond”, the Washington DC-based Brookings Institute invited various academic luminaries to give their thoughts on Xi and his ambitions ahead of the congress.

Cheng Li, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center, noted, “Beijing has been playing hardball. Xi Jinping believes China now has more leverage in the current global economic landscape… For the CCP leadership, this reinforces its position on Xinjiang and Hong Kong- they’re not negotiable – and it will continue the pressure campaign against Taiwan independence.”

However, there are a couple of key tensions facing the CCP elite. One is that Beijing must reconcile the need for stability with its hardline policies. Cheng perceived three ways Xi is doing this. The first is that the government believes it has gained sufficient political capital from recent successes such as public health, poverty elimination, green development, technological advancement and military modernization.

The second is Xi’s recent call for common prosperity plus some popular moves to help vulnerable groups.

Furthermore, his assertive foreign policy and nationalistic appeals resonate well with the public.

The third is that Xi’s proteges, especially those to be promoted for the next Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), have substantial leadership experience from provinces like Guangdong known for their vibrant private sectors and international economic engagement. “This will revitalize, in the hopes of Beijing, the confidence of private entrepreneurs and the Chinese middle class.”