Willy Wo-Lap Lam
Xi Jinping is in political trouble. The supreme leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) faces challenges from multiple groups, including from retired politburo standing committee members, fellow princelings, some of the military top brass, and even from some in the country’s middle class. As a result, his ability to shape policy in the financial, foreign affairs, and other arenas has been truncated. It might be far-fetched to speculate that Xi, the so-called “eternal core of the Party (永远党的核心),” might be driven out of office this year, but it is crucial to understand who his enemies are and how they challenge the commander-in-chief.
The PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), recently have championed the virtues of “collective leadership (集体领导).” This could be interpreted as a slap in the face of Xi’s insistence since he came to power in 2012 on the dictum that all decisions should “rely on a single voice of authority (定于一尊)” (PLA Daily, December 9, 2024; Radio Free Asia, December 18, 2024).
Xi’s clout over economic decision-making appears to have been reduced. The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, which are the two major high-level party platforms for promulgating economic and financial policies that Xi leads, have ceased to meet regularly (Fitch Ratings, December 16, 2024; State Council, January 5; (Radio Free Asia, January 10). This could be due to the underwhelming results of the massive program of monetary and fiscal quantitative easing—known to Chinese officials as “using ample water to undertake massive irrigation (大水漫灌)”—that has been executed since September (China Brief, October 11, 2024).
No comments:
Post a Comment