Analysis: Xi s moment of dominance can t hide his weakness newsindiatimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsindiatimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
China’s increasingly isolationist policies stem from Xi Jinping’s belief that the only safe China is a self-sufficient China. But openness, experts say, is also a source of strength.
By Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) - One of Xi Jinping s first moves after winning China s top job as general secretary of the Communist Party in 2012 was to reinstate regular democratic life sessions with fellow leaders in the 25-member Politburo, a staple of the Mao Zedong era. Restoring the practice, which entails self-criticism in front of the general secretary, marked a small but symbolic example of how Xi has departed from China s collective leadership of recent decades and accumulated power unseen since Mao s time. Xi, 69, is widely expected to break with precedent at the ruling Communist Party Congress that starts Oct. 16 and extend his decade-long leadership for another five years - or beyond - cementing the party s resurgence across all aspects of China, with Xi officially its core . While the exact make-up of the next Politburo Standing Committee will give clues as to just how much Xi has neutralised what is left of opposing factions, few party-watchers expect significant cha