5 myths about China’s leadership change

5 myths about China’s leadership change

Mao Zedong stayed in power for several decades. Under today's political system in China that wouldn't be possible.

Does your political knowledge of China’s leadership stem mainly from history books or tabloid news reports? Here are a few myths for you to chew on.

1. The party congress is just for show

It's through the Party Congress that we'll get a better understanding of where China is heading next.

Partly true. China doesn’t have a nationwide election where it’s uncertain who will reach the upper echelons until votes have been counted. Instead they have a congress every fifth year where some 2,000 delegates from the Communist Party get together to make some key decisions about the future of the nation.
In addition to reviewing and making changes to the party constitution, they will make the final calls about who will be in charge of the party for the upcoming five years. In practice, important personnel decisions are made beforehand and there has to be a strong belief that preferred candidates would have the necessary support when the “election” is taking place.
This year’s 18th Party Congress, starting November 8th, is definitely a show, as it’s giving the state media a welcome opportunity to proclaim the achievements of the party and its leadership. At the same time, the importance of the event should not be underestimated - it is through the Party Congress that we all might gain a better understanding of where China and its leadership will be heading next.

2. China has a supreme leader

No one will have absolute power ever again.

Not anymore. In the 20th century, Mao Zedong was probably one of the most influential leaders in the world. He became a charismatic dictator when he saved China from collapsing, but got too confident in his own leadership skills and eventually led his country back into despair. After his death, it was concluded that one-man rule wouldn't be the best way to run the country.
China’s president does of course have far more power in decision-making processes than the next guy, but he can’t make the decisions all alone either. In fact, there are nine influential top leaders (called the Politburo Standing Committee) and 25 leaders who are also very influential (called the Politburo).
These 34 people have to discuss and negotiate with each other in order to achieve anything, as well as assuring that they have the necessary general support for most of their policies (they use the CPPCC and NPC for much of this purpose). The principle is that it should be a collective leadership where no one will have absolute power ever again.

3. Leaders can stay in power as long as they want to

Most of China's leaders are getting too old or have served too long.

Not anymore. Before Mao Zedong died after several years of illness at the age of 83, he never contemplated stepping down from power as his health started to deteriorate.
Being in charge of a big and complicated nation is a huge task, and it’s obvious that no one would be capable of doing so for decades and until their death. Also, if someone has too much power for too long, the outcome is usually not good.
Deng Xiaoping, China’s famous reformer and president in the 80s, realized this predicament and pushed for smoother power successions by implementing age and term limits:
Each term lasts five years, and no one can remain in the leadership for more than two terms. The main reason that there’s a leadership change going on in China right now is because most of its leaders are getting too old or have served too long.
Seven of the nine members of the current Politburo Standing Committee (China’s top leaders) have already served two terms. Only president-to-be Xi Jinping and premier-to-be Li Keqiang are expected to stay. None of the most popular candidates are older than 67, and if they had been older than 70, they simply wouldn’t have been allowed to start a new term.

4. Leaders agree on everything all the time

Opinions and criticism are welcome as long as they’re “within reason.”

Definitely not. China’s leadership is all about harmony, at least that’s what they want people to believe. They might have similar haircuts and talk alike, but you shouldn’t be deceived.
Many of them have very different ideas about how China should be run and which political areas should be prioritized. When it comes to implementing new policies, it’s rarely a matter of presenting a proposal and everyone saying “aye.”
A lot goes on behind closed doors. There are deep tensions between individuals and party factions, sometimes your argument will get through and sometimes it won’t.
Opinions and criticism are welcome as long as they’re “within reason” (not attacking the Communist Party itself), but you can’t ever publicly show that you disagree with whatever decision has been made. If you’re not capable of dealing with this way of doing politics in China, you simply won’t make it to the top.

5. Public opinion doesn’t matter

Public support is essential to maintaining the legitimacy of the regime.

Wrong – but not the way you think. The role of public opinion is not the same as in the West, where people can vote and criticize candidates publicly, but that doesn’t mean that public opinion isn’t being taken into account when a leadership change is taking place.
Active social media outlets such as Sina Weibo show that the Chinese public is not indifferent to who’s governing them, and likewise – the Chinese leadership is not ignorant to the public’s comments either. This should come as no surprise, as public support is essential to maintaining the legitimacy of the Communist regime.
After generations of extreme politics, most Chinese just want to live their everyday lives in peace, rather than being too concerned about what national leaders might be up to next. In the process of finding the next batch of political leaders, it’s therefore incredibly important that the nominees are not too charismatic or have ideas that are too radical.
Leaders should have good track records that people can be impressed with regardless of what their political leanings might be, but they also need to be much attuned to the needs and concerns of the Chinese people. Finding people who fit this magic algorithm can’t be easy, and so a lengthy nomination process of closely scrutinizing potential candidates seems to be the strategy that China is the most comfortable with.