Publicity boards of the 20th National Congress in Xixin Chan Temple.
The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), commonly referred to as Èrshí Dà (Chinese: 二十大), was held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing from 16 to 22 October 2022. The National Congress is the highest organ of the party, and is stipulated to be held every five years. The conference had 2,296 delegates and 83 specially invited delegates.
The CCP Congress endorsed the amendments to the CCP constitution, membership list of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and elected the 20th Central Committee of the CCP. The day after the closing of the Congress, the 1st Plenary Session was held at which The Central Committee approved the composition of the Secretariat. Soon after, the members of the Politburo and its Standing Committee, the party's most powerful decision-making body. Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third term as CCP general secretary after the Congress. It will likely be followed by the 21st National Congress of the CCP in 2027.
Background and preparation
Preparations for the 20th Chinese Communist Party National Congress began in 2021 and ended with a plenary session of the 19th Central Committee, a few days prior to the 20th National Congress.[1] Elections for the delegates of the 20th Chinese Communist Party National Congress started in November 2021,[2] as well as receiving and amending party documents. In that month, the 19th Central Committee decided in its sixth plenary session that the 20th National Congress would be held in the second half of 2022.[3]
In May 2022, the CCP General Office issued a set of regulations warning retired members not to make any ‘negative’ political comments or discussion of the party's policies in the run-up to the 20th National Congress and that violations of the disciplinary rules will be ‘dealt with seriously’.[4]
On 30 August, the Politburo held a meeting for preparatory work for the seventh plenary session of the 19th Central Committee and the 20th National Congress, which put the dates for the Plenary Session and the Congress on 9 October and 16 October respectively.[5]
In September, unsubstantiated rumors of a coup spread throughout social media, but were quashed after Xi Jinping appeared days later.[6]
A total of 2,296 delegates were elected to represent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s 96.7 million members by 25 September 2022.[7]
On 13 October, three days prior to the opening of the CCP National Congress, the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest took place.[8][9] This protest against Xi Jinping and his policies was rare as it came just days before the start of the Congress, a period during which the authorities imposed extremely tight control over protests and dissent.[10] Similar protest slogans subsequently appeared in other cities in China and around the world.[11][12][13] Some people shared these messages as graffiti or via AirDrop.[11][14]
On 16 October, at 10 am, Li Keqiang announced the opening of the conference.[17] Subsequently, Xi gave a work report in behalf of the 19th Central Committee. The speech lasted for around 104 minutes, roughly half of his speech in the 19th Congress.[18][19] During the speech, he defended China's zero-COVID approach to the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, said that Hong Kong had "a major transition from chaos to governance", advocated for Taiwan's "peaceful reunification" but vowed to not renounce the use of force, advocated for "common prosperity," and denounced corruption. Xi reaffirmed China's socialist market economy, including support for both the public ownership system and the private economy.[20] He also spoke of enacting policies to boost China's birth rate, which is among the lowest in the world.[21] Additionally, he emphasized China's national security, including food, energy, and supply chain safety.[22] Xi outlined the "Chinese path to modernization", mentioning the slogan 11 times.[23] On China's position on the world stage, he said that "China’s international influence, appeal and power to shape the world has significantly increased".[24] Overall, the speech was said to be showing continuity rather than change.[25]
The second meeting of the Presidium was held on 18 October, presided by Xi. The meeting decided to submit draft resolutions on the 19th Central Committee's and 19th CCDI's reports as well as the amendment to the Party Constitution. It also adopted proposed lists of preliminary nominees for the 20th Central Committee and the 20th CCDI.[26] The draft name lists for both were approved during the third meeting of the Presidium, held on 21 October.[27] On 22 October, the National Congress adopted the work reports of the 19th Central Committee and the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. It also adopted the proposed amendments to the Party Constitution, and elected members of the 20th Central Committee and the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Official voting results showed that all proposals passed unanimously with no abstentions or negative votes.[28] The National Congress concluded that day.[29]
At the closing ceremony on 22 October, Hu Jintao, the former General Secretary of the CCP and President, who had been sitting next to Xi, was pulled from his seat and escorted out of the hall by two men in suits and with name badges.[30][31][32] This incident occurred before the votes that day, and Hu was absent from the voting due to this incident.[33][34]Xinhua News Agency, China's official press agency, stated that Hu was not feeling well,[35] while foreign news speculated whether Hu was genuinely sick or whether this was a deliberate political signal by Xi.[36][37][38] The incident was not broadcast in China and both Hu's and Hu's son's names were blocked by Chinese censors.[39] Academics Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung write that the ban on images and reporting of the incident suggests that Xi did not intend to humiliate Hu.[40]: 1
The 1st plenum of the 20th Central Committee, to elect the central party leadership, was held immediately after the Congress, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping was appointed for an unprecedented third term as party leader.[41] The newly elected members of the 20th Politburo Standing Committee in addition to Xi were, in their orders of precedence:[42]
Li Qiang (born 1959) – seen as a close ally of Xi, Li has been the Communist Party secretary of Shanghai since 2017 and has since succeeded Li Keqiang as Chinese premier in 2023. Seen as business-friendly, he nonetheless gained criticism for his handling of the two-month lockdown of Shanghai due to a coronavirus outbreak.
Cai Qi (born 1955) – serving as the Communist Party secretary of Beijing since 2017, Cai became the first secretary of the CCP Secretariat. He is considered to be a close ally of Xi.
Ding Xuexiang (born 1962) – serving as the director of the CCP General Office, Ding was effectively Xi's chief of staff since 2017. He is a close ally of Xi and has since succeeded Han Zheng as the first vice premier.
Li Xi (born 1956) – serving as the Communist Party secretary of Guangdong since 2017, Li became the secretary of the CCDI, succeeding Zhao Leji. He is considered to have connections to Xi.
Policy changes
Party Constitution amendments
The Congress saw several amendments to the Party Constitution. Additions included opposition to Taiwan independence,[43][44] developing a "fighting spirit" and strengthening fighting ability, as well as additions of goals related to Xi, including gradually achieving common prosperity, promoting Chinese-style modernization and developing a "broader, fuller and more robust" whole-process people's democracy.[43] The status of Xi and the Party were further strengthened with the amendments, with the amended constitution naming the CCP as the "highest force for political leadership" and including the two safeguards, which call for safeguarding the status of Xi Jinping as the core of the CCP and safeguarding the centralized authority of the Party.[45][43]
Economy
The Congress emphasized that the CCP's economic agenda should focus on quality of growth, rather than solely quantity, consistent with principles of security and common prosperity.[46]: 135 The importance of growing the digital economy was also emphasized.[46]: 297
Reaction
Countries
North Korea: The Workers' Party of Korea general secretary Kim Jong Un sent a congratulatory letter to Xi Jinping on the Party Congress and his reelection as CCP general secretary, saying the Congress represented a "significant landmark" for the CCP and the Chinese people "in propelling the historic process of the Chinese nation's great prosperity under the banner of the socialist idea with the Chinese characteristics in the new era", and saying he hoped to further develop their ties.[47]
Russia: President Vladimir Putin congratulated Xi on his reelection, saying the Congress "fully confirms your high political authority, as well as the unity of the party you lead", and saying that he was confident Xi's reelection would "strengthen China's position in the international arena".[48]
Taiwan: Shortly after Xi Jinping's opening speech in which he stated that the People's Republic of China would never renounce the option of conducting military operations against Taiwan, the Office of the President of Taiwan issued a statement in which it said it would not compromise on either its sovereignty or democracy.[49][50] The Kuomintang, on the other hand, congratulated Xi Jinping on his reelection as CCP general secretary.[51]
Stock markets
Stocks related to Chinese corporations suffered major losses on October 24, with the Hang Seng Index falling 6%, its worst daily decline since the 2008 financial crisis.[52] The Shanghai Stock Exchange only declined by 2% after the meeting.[53] The renminbi also nearly fell to a rate of 7.31 to the dollar.[54] The Golden Dragon China Index, an index of multiple Chinese companies listed on American exchanges, fell 14% in its worst daily drop since 2004,[55] before partially rebounding a day later.[53]
^"'We all saw it': anti-Xi Jinping protest electrifies Chinese internet". the Guardian. 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Such an overt and publicised protest against Xi specifically would be significant at the best of times, but this occurred just days out from the ruling Communist party congress.
^ ab"Anti-Xi protest spreads in China and worldwide as Chinese leader begins third term | CNN". CNN. 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022. Over the past week, as party elites gathered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People to extoll Xi and his policies at the 20th Party Congress, anti-Xi slogans echoing the Sitong Bridge banners have popped up in a growing number of Chinese cities and hundreds of universities worldwide.
