[China Xi Jinping 3rd Term] Top Leadership Purged with 'Loyalists'... Politburo Reduced to 24 Members

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] On the 23rd, Chinese President Xi Jinping was re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, securing a third term, while all members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the top leadership body, were filled entirely with Xi’s close associates.

On the 23rd, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party held a press conference immediately after the 1st Plenary Session (1st Plenum) held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in the morning, revealing the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee. The order in which the new Standing Committee members appeared on the podium at the press conference allows speculation about their power ranking and roles.

On that day’s podium, following President Xi, Li Qiang, Party Secretary of Shanghai, was introduced as the 'number two' and appointed as Premier of the State Council. Then, Xi introduced Zhao Leji, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection; Wang Huning, Secretary of the Central Secretariat; Cai Qi, Party Secretary of Beijing; Ding Xuexiang, Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; and Li Xi, Party Secretary of Guangdong Province, in that order, presenting the Standing Committee members for Xi’s third term. According to the communiqu? of the 1st Plenum released that day, the Politburo, which consisted of 25 members during 'Xi Jinping’s second term,' was reduced to 24 members.

Introducing these members, President Xi expressed gratitude for the people's trust in the Communist Party, saying, "Even amid fierce winds and waves, and dangerous storms, the people remain the Party’s strongest supporters," while repeatedly emphasizing China’s modernization.