In front of some 2,300 Party delegates on Sunday, the 69-year-old leader took stock of the past five years for more than an hour and a half and drew up the roadmap for the next five.
While he did mention a “critical moment” in which his country finds itself, where the strict zero Covid policy is undermining economic growth, Xi Jinping above all wanted to project the image of a strong and innovative China, determined not to not change immediately.
This speech “was unambiguously about continuity”, reacted on Twitter Joseph Torigian, of the international department of the American University in Washington.
So “this congress, although historic, absolutely does not mean new political orientations,” he said.
Since his arrival at the head of China in 2012, Xi Jinping has concentrated and personalized power, leading an anti-corruption campaign that has enabled him to clean up his rivals, while displaying his firmness on the international scene.
– “Chinese style” –
Relations with the Western world, led by Washington, have become strained, against a backdrop of commercial competition and criticism from many countries regarding its policy towards Taiwan, Hong Kong or Xinjiang.
And yet, Xi Jinping’s speech on Sunday had “a general tone of triumphalism”, notes academic Hong Zhang, from the Ash Center attached to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).
As proof, the way in which the leader presented his country as an alternative to the West: “Chinese-style modernization offers humanity a new option to modernize”, claimed Xi Jinping.
This is the first time that this expression of “Chinese-style modernization” has been used in a speech at the CCP congress, Holly Snape, a professor at the University of Glasgow and China specialist, told AFP.
It “reinforces the notion that there is a Chinese way: a Chinese style of modernization, of political system, of democracy, of rule of law…”
She also underlines Xi’s emphasis on Chinese science and technology, sectors he wants to be more “autonomous and strong”.
Iris Pang, chief economist of ING Bank for China, sees a clear reference to the “technological war” with the United States.
It has accelerated since President Joe Biden decided in August to increase his support for the semiconductor and high-tech sectors in his country.
Washington has thus implemented export controls which, according to Beijing, “deliberately block Chinese companies”.
– National security –
If Xi seems confident in his country’s economy, the problems are still there.
In a context of slowdown due to health restrictions and the real estate crisis, China surprised on Monday by announcing the postponement of the publication of its quarterly growth, scheduled for the next day.
And while Xi insisted that economic growth remained the priority, he did not appear to want to ease the zero Covid policy despite its impact on activity. The Communist Party “prioritizes human lives” over the economy, the leader stressed.
Another main focus of his speech: security.
“The word security is repeatedly emphasized, given growing geopolitical tensions impacting food, energy, supply chains,” write HSBC bank analysts Jing Liu and Erin Xiu.
Analysts at the China Media Project did the math: In 2012, then-President Hu Jintao used the term “national security” four times. On Sunday, Xi Jinping used it 27 times.
For the Communist Party, a central element of this security is obviously the question of Taiwan, with this time “a greater warning to foreigners not to get involved”, observes Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund.
