CHINA'S PARTY CONGRESS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS NEW CHALLENGES

On October 16, 2022, the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party opened in Beijing with General Secretary Xi Jinping delivering a two-hour report to 2,296 delegates. Xi’s report extolled accomplishments since the last conclave in 2017, set priorities for the party going forward, and set the tone for the governance of the party and nation. Overall, Xi’s report transmitted two messages that contend with one another: triumphalism and trepidation.To get more news about china 20th party congress, you can visit shine news official website.

The triumphalism was mostly tied to the many self-declared accomplishments the party has scored across a host of domestic and foreign policy initiatives since the 19th Congress in 2017. These include the assertions that the party has completed the eradication of poverty and met its goal of developing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) into “a moderately prosperous society in all respects.” The report also exudes a sense of focus, determination and confidence as Xi lays out objectives and aspirations for the next five years.
However, suffused throughout the 63-page report — in the English version handed out at the congress — is a sense of concern, uncertainty, and some might even say foreboding. This trepidation relates to the external forces Beijing confronts as it attempts to achieve its next set of national objectives. Key statements in the report paint a somewhat dark picture:

In addition, the report to the congress hedges on two long-standing key judgments that had been fundamental to shaping Beijing’s willingness to take risks with economic reform at home and guide its approach to national security and military affairs.

The first judgment is whether “peace and development”is still the “keynote of the times” . First formulated by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, this long-standing assessment judges the world as basically at peace and the possibility of a war between the major powers involving China is remote, and therefore China can concentrate on domestic economic reform. This judgment also provided the rationale for the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army, transitioning to a state of peacetime modernization from the state of war readiness that existed when the former Soviet Union posed a direct military threat to the PRC.

Judging “peace and development” as the keynote of the times has provided a rationale for the basic direction of China’s domestic policies, foreign policies, and defense policies for decades. It was unambiguously confirmed at party congresses in 2012 and 2017. As recently as 2020, “peace and development,” was revalidated as the keynote of the times by the communique of the 5th Plenum of the 19th Central Committee, although troubling trends in international affairs were acknowledged.

Perhaps foreshadowing uncertainty on this account, in March of this year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Xi Jinping telling President Joe Biden during a video teleconference that “the prevailing trend of peace and development is facing serious challenges.” And in Xi’s report to the 20th Party Congress, he made no explicit validation of “peace and development” as the keynote of the times. Instead, the report says, “The historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable” … but “the deficit in peace, development, security, and governance is growing.” This was eye-catching for those who follow the catechisms of the Chinese Communist Party.