Whether Xi could retain Wang in a senior role despite him reaching retirement age had been seen as a key measure of Xi’s power and the subject of much speculation in the lead-up to this month’s National People’s Congress. US President Donald Trump is seeking to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports and will target the technology and telecommunications sectors, two people who had discussed the issue with the Trump administration said this week. Wang also speaks no English.Ĭhina has been trying to head off a trade war with the United States, sending envoys to Washington in recent weeks, including Xi’s top economic advisor Liu He. “The vice president position in the PRC is not a very powerful one, but it depends who fills the job,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a China expert at Hong Kong Baptist University, referring to the country’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China.Ĭabestan said Wang would likely be considerably more influential than his immediate predecessor Li Yuanchao, given his close relationship with Xi and greater international profile.īut any effort by China to elevate formal exchanges with the United States on tricky trade issues, for example from a cabinet to vice presidential level, would require the White House’s consent too. China’s relationship with the United States is likely to be a key part of his remit, according to diplomats and sources with ties to the leadership. Wang’s appointment has the potential to reshape what has traditionally been a ceremonial role. Last Sunday, parliament voted to amend the constitution, which removed presidential and vice-presidential term limits, meaning Xi can stay in power indefinitely. “Our country needs someone like him who will continue to step out and shoulder responsibilities for the people,” he said. Zhao Wanping, a delegate from the central province of Anhui, told Reuters Wang’s election was in line with the will of the people, pointing to his anti-corruption efforts. He was a major player in Xi’s battle against corruption, with dozens of senior officials jailed during his tenure as the top graft-fighter, including the fearsome domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, now serving life in jail. Known as “the firefighter” for his central role in tackling issues like corruption and domestic financial problems over the years, Wang also has experience dealing with the United States in his former role as a vice premier who led annual economic talks with Washington. Xi and Wang spoke only to pledge allegiance to the constitution, with Wang giving the podium an emphatic tap after he finished. Only one person voted against Wang out of the 2,970 votes cast. Wang bowed twice and then walked over to Xi to shake his hand after the vote was announced inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. The body is packed with party loyalists and there was no chance he would not win the vote. Xi was also re-elected president by parliament, with no votes cast against him. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with newly elected Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan at the fifth plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 17, 2018.(Reuters Photo) It is through his control of the personnel system and a sweeping corruption crackdown that he has been able to bulldoze the factions that once dominated the party, stacking key positions with loyalists and sidelining any potential challengers to his leadership.China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament chose former top graft-buster Wang Qishan, a key ally of President Xi Jinping, as vice president on Saturday, a widely-expected move that nonetheless breaks with convention and underlines Xi’s dominant authority. He has achieved this by manipulating appointments to the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) and purging key rivals from the leadership. This has prevented rival groups, or one individual leader, from becoming too influential. Since the early 1990s the Communist party has operated a series of term limits that kept the political peace between different factions. The most powerful ruler of China since Mao, Xi has centralised decision-making in his own hands in a way his recent predecessors could not have dreamt. Xi Jinping, who is expected to be appointed for an unprecedented third term as leader, tightened his grip on power on Sunday as he addressed the party’s 20th congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Politics is personnel, especially in China’s Communist party system.
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