China’s Communist Party is looking for a new generation of leaders. They’ll have to pass ‘the loyalty test’
- Ahead of next year’s leadership reshuffle, personnel chief Chen Xi says ‘political quality’ is crucial for promotion
- He says having the best and most loyal talent at the top will be critical to realising the goal of national rejuvenation
Chen Xi, head of the Organisation Department, made the remarks in an article on “grooming qualified successors” in party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Wednesday. He said having the best and most loyal talent at the top was critical for the party to realise its goal of a great national rejuvenation.
He also emphasised that loyalty was the most important thing and said while the party should open the door to more young talent, they would have to prove themselves to secure a leadership role.
“[We should] not select them just because of their [young] age. The selection is not about the younger the better,” wrote Chen, who is also a member of the policymaking Politburo.
Instead, he said “political quality” was crucial and only cadres who had a clean track record should be promoted.
“Loyalty is the soul of politics and the most important political quality,” Chen said. “The first criterion for selecting cadres is whether they are loyal to the party – if they fail to pass the loyalty test, then they fail the selection process and will not be chosen no matter how capable they are.”