Xi Jinping's Absolute Power Seen Through the China Beidaihe Meeting [Correspondent Diary]

Veiled Beidaihe Meeting... A Gauge of China's Regime Change
US Political Sphere Paving the Way to Absolute Power

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The recent biggest concern in Chinese diplomatic circles is whether the 'Beidaihe (北戴河) Meeting' will be held.

This meeting is generally held in early August in Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, and is known as a senior meeting attended by current and former Chinese top leaders. Other than that, nothing is known. The specific date, attendees, and agenda remain shrouded in mystery. Since former State Chairman Mao Zedong first held a meeting in Beidaihe in 1954 as a summer retreat, it has become an annual event.

Chinese diplomatic circles are keenly attentive to the holding of the Beidaihe Meeting to detect changes in China's ruling system.

During the Mao Zedong era, it was a 'one-man rule system,' but from the Deng Xiaoping era, it changed to a 'collective system.' Although Deng Xiaoping held power, he could not ignore the revolutionary elders. Deng had to share power with the revolutionary elders. Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were also under the influence of the elders.

Chinese diplomatic circles view that under Xi Jinping's era, China's ruling system is shifting from a 'collective' to a 'one-man' system.

In March 2018, the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment removing the clause that prohibited a president from serving more than two terms.

This opened one door for President Xi to serve a third term and potentially rule long-term. This was possible because both the Politburo (25 members) and the Politburo Standing Committee (7 members), the core decision-making bodies of the Chinese Communist Party, were filled with Xi's people.

The issue is the support of 1.4 billion people. Although it is a socialist country, there must be people who criticize President Xi or oppose his long-term rule.

Chinese diplomatic circles unanimously say that the US-China conflict is a 'trump card' for President Xi. The more the conflict intensifies, the more it can serve as an opportunity for the 1.4 billion people to unite tightly around President Xi. The US-China conflict is said to even grant 'authority' to President Xi.

Now, only the last door remains to become an absolute one-man ruler: the revival of the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In the organizational chart of the Chinese Communist Party, the General Secretary is below the NPC and the Central Committee. Absolute ruler Mao Zedong created the position of General Secretary (Secretary-General) in 1954 and appointed Deng Xiaoping to that position.

As conflicts intensified, the US political circles began to belittle President Xi by calling him the Communist Party General Secretary. This paved the way for absolute power. It is not impossible that the Chinese NPC will revive the Chairman position of the Central Committee in the next session.

The reduction or contraction of the Beidaihe Meeting means that President Xi's absolute power has grown that much. However, whether this meeting will be held still remains only a matter of speculation and is shrouded in uncertainty.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.