Some foreign experts say this is concerning and a sign of weakness; Chinese expert says unity is a sign of strength.
- Xi Jinping has stacked his Communist Party's top body with "yes men" and no women.
- Some foreign experts say this is concerning and a sign of weakness; Chinese expert says unity is a sign of strength.
Xi Jinping has stacked his Communist Party's top body with 'yes men' and no women. Some foreign experts say this is concerning and a sign of weakness, but a Chinese expert says unity is a sign of strength and many Chinese will not perceive the lack of women in power as a problem.
The 69-year-old Chinese president was on Sunday handed another five years in his third term as party leader as he promoted his closest allies into the party's ruling body.
It's a move that proves the power-hungry and ruthlessly ambitious leader is intolerant of dissent and regards loyalty above all, experts say.
So how has Mr Xi been able to tilt his country back to one-man rule, how do the Chinese feel about this, and is his near-total control good for China and international relations?
'100 per cent loyalists'
Dr Graeme Smith, senior fellow at the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University, says Mr Xi has been stacking the Central Committee with loyalists for the last 10 years.
The Central Committee is the wider body that the 24-member Politburo and the elite, seven-member Politburo Standing Committee draws from.
This time Mr Xi has stacked his Standing Committee with four allies, including two of his former secretaries.
"In his previous Politburo Standing Committee, he had people who were seen as being from other factions, so representing different views within the party," Dr Smith told SBS News.
"It's 100 per cent loyalists now. So that's the difference."
The structure of Xi Jinping's Community Party, which has the largest active member base of any political party in the world. Source: SBS News
Party still encourages women to 'stay at home'
Veteran politician Sun Chunlan, a vice premier overseeing China's health policies, was the only woman in the previous 24-member Politburo, but she has retired.
No other women have been appointed.
In the world's biggest political party — which counts 96 million active members — women have never held much power. Even though they make up about 29 per cent of the total Communist Party membership, few of them manage to ascend from grassroots positions.
Women make up just five per cent of the party's new 205-member Central Committee. The Politburo has only admitted six women since 1948 and no woman has ever made it into the Standing Committee.
(L-R) Li Xi, Cai Qi, Zhao Leji, Xi Jinping ,Li Qiang, Wang Huning and Ding Xuexiang attend the meeting between members of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee and Chinese and foreign journalists in Beijing, China. Source: Getty / Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Dr Smith says the ageing population remains a significant concern in China, with the government struggling to increase the birth rate, and this feeds into the party's ideology.
By 2050, China's median age will be 56, while in the US it will be 44, according to census data.
"Women aren't having babies. They're trying to encourage women to have more babies and stay at home, which does sound pretty bonkers in this day and age, but their demographic problem is a serious one."
Professor David Goodman, director of China Studies Centre at University of Sydney, says while China may boast one of the world's largest economies, it's still a developing country when it comes to levels of education and societal development.
"It's not about getting rid of inequality. Inequality isn't a concept in China," he told SBS News.
"Women's issues play a secondary role."
It's always been hard to measure women's sentiment in China because the regime has targeted feminists.
But Dr Pan Wang, senior lecturer in Chinese and Asian Studies at the University of New South Wales told SBS News she doesn't expect women in China to be angry about the lack of women in the Politburo but accepting.
"When you're in China, it's quite different from our perspective outside as foreigners. Chinese women think this is normal," she said.
"Only when there are major changes to the gender composition will there be different feelings towards this."
'No feedback loop' as Xi Jinping aims to implement policies without delay
In addition to the absence of women, Dr Smith says it's "concerning" when anyone surrounds themselves with 'yes men'.
"There's no feedback loop, there's no check. These men have built their careers on saying yes."
There are questions both inside and outside China around the merit of some members of the Standing Committee, with some suggesting they are not best placed for the roles.
"They're not idiots, but they're certainly not the most talented people in the system," Dr Smith said. "It's sort of an amazing lesson. There's this system that seems to reward two things: being mediocre and working your connections.
"Everyone's saying this makes Xi the most powerful person since Mao, but to me, it actually looks like weakness. Because if you are truly unassailable then you are not bothered by having people around you who might offer a different opinion."
Professor Goodman says it's clear Mr Xi is seeking control as China grapples with an economy thwarted by snap COVID-19 lockdowns and curbs on movement.
China has delayed the release of its third-quarter economic growth figures, amid expectations that the country was on course for its weakest performance since the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
"Xi Jinping wants to do things as quickly as possible. He doesn't want debate about what happens next," Professor Goodman said.
Dr Wang believes that unity is a good thing for China and says many Chinese people will see the number of loyalists in the Politburo as "a good thing".
"Xi has the mandate of heaven in China, people like him so it doesn't matter if there are loyalists to him."
The 69-year-old Chinese President was on Sunday handed a historic new five-year term. Source: AAP / AP
She said democratic models like in the US and the UK where "people are fighting each other all the time" would not work for China.
"It just feels like it's not united. The one-party leadership really works for China. Whether or not those people within his inner circle are the best candidates for the job. Working all together for the interests of the country will work at the end of the day."
Aggressive foreign policy 'unlikely to change'
Dr Smith says China's aggressive foreign policy is unlikely to change under the new governing structure.
"The concern for international relations is that without people in there who are able to say no to Xi or guide him on a different path, then the course that has been set for foreign diplomacy, which is quite aggressive, isn't likely to change.
"Acts of wolf warrior diplomacy are only going to increase because the Politburo's selection sends a signal that there's now only one line."
Professor Goodman maintains Mr Xi and his decision-makers don't really care what the rest of the world thinks of China.
"International press has never really bothered the Communist Party of China. For them, it's about China."
"They're talking still about global development initiatives, but they're realising that there's going to be less cooperation with the developed world, and that their focus will be on Africa and Latin America, and Southeast Asia."
With AFP.
