China’s 20th Communist Party Congress: What you need to know

(Reuters) – China’s 20th Communist Party Congress began on Sunday, with Xi Jinping poised to clinch his third five-year stint in charge – a mandate that would secure him as the country’s most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong.

* Xi opened the week-long, twice-a-decade session with a speech touting China’s fight against COVID-19, the party’s safeguarding of national security, maintaining social stability, protecting people’s lives and taking control of the situation in Hong Kong, which was rocked by anti-government protests in 2019. He also called for accelerating the building of a world-class military.

* Little is known about who will be promoted into which key roles on the Politburo and its seven-member Standing Committee. Here are some of the leading contenders and some scenarios to look out for.

* Leaders face a difficult time. The world’s second-largest economy is slowing and facing a potentially painful rebalancing of its investment- and property-led model.

* China’s real estate developers are delaying debt restructuring moves until after the congress, hoping the gathering offers clues on how Beijing plans to stabilise the embattled sector.

* In a highly unusual move, China delayed the release of key economic indicators scheduled for publication this week.

* Still, the country’s vast financial bureaucracy has been busily tamping down ripples of turmoil across its currency and stock markets, with state banks and companies stepping in to provide support and reassurance to investors.

* In the work report from which his speech was drawn, Xi used the terms “security” or “safety” 89 times, up from 55 times in 2017, according to a Reuters count, while his use of the word “reform” declined.

* Xi said it was up to the Chinese people to resolve the Taiwan issue and China would never renounce the right to use force but will strive for a peaceful resolution.

* China will enact policies to boost its birth rate, Xi said, as policymakers worry that an imminent decline in China’s population could hurt the world’s second-biggest economy.

* China will make its COVID-19 prevention measures more scientific, accurate and effective, a party spokesman.

Quotes

“In the past, Chinese leaders based their legitimacy on their ability to provide economic growth. Now with the economy slowing, Xi tries to shift the basis of legitimacy from economic growth to security – that he can be the one who saves and protects China,” said Alfred Wu, Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

(Compiled by Lincoln Feast and William Mallard; Editing by Michael Perry)