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.
A visitor takes pictures in front of a screen displaying an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Florence LoBEIJING, Oct 10 - 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.
Critics point to China's persistence with policies despite blowback, whether on COVID, an abrasively aggressive diplomacy or stifling of the once-vibrant "platform" economy as evidence of the risks of increasingly authoritarian rule. "Xi has had a very difficult time changing course. This is a weakness," said Ashley Esarey, a political scientist at the University of Alberta.
When elders picked Xi to be leader, the son of a Communist Party revolutionary was considered a safe choice to put the party first and refresh an institution that had grown sclerotic with corruption and less relevant in a liberalising economy.
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