China’s party congress promotions to emphasise political security
- Appointments are expected to sharpen focus on potential threats to the state and draw a line under the corruption scandals of recent years
- The front runners for the key political and legal roles have all served under the Chinese leader from the beginning of his rise to power
Under Xi’s leadership, Beijing has significantly sharpened and reshaped the country’s zhengfa departments, the political and legal organs that form its security mechanisms.
Observers and insiders expect the process to continue, with appointments that will reinforce Xi’s all-encompassing security vision covering everything from politics, through technology and the Covid-19 response, to food supply.
Gu Su, a political scientist with Nanjing University, said the power of Xi’s allies had been growing for years and is mostly related to national security.
“They have placed a stronger emphasis on political security and become more sensitive as to what constitutes a threat to state security,” he said.
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In 2014, two years after taking office, Xi founded and chaired the party’s first National Security Commission, rolling out his vision of “holistic national security”, covering almost all policy areas. A year later, China enacted its first national security law.