Chinese state media: Party and state leaders step down of their own accord

Chinese state media Xinhua ran an article on how the new central leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed, revealing that several party and state leaders offered to retire. This suggests that some Politburo and its Standing Committee members stepped down of their own accord, in a surprising round of senior appointments.

The article also highlighted the diminishing influence of party veterans on senior appointments as CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping did not consult them in selecting the new leadership team.

On 23 October, the day after the 20th Party Congress closed, the new Central Committee selected the CCP central leadership.

Surprisingly, Chinese Premier and 19th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) member Li Keqiang and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chair Wang Yang were left out of the 20th Central Committee and stepped down from the PSC.

Former Politburo member and Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua - once tipped as a hot pick to make the PSC - remained in the Central Committee, but did not even make it into the new 24-member Politburo.

In the 8,000-word article published on 24 October, Xinhua said that CCP members were magnanimous and gracious as "during the candidate deliberation and opinion solicitation, some Party and state leaders, bearing in mind the interests of the Party and the people and showing a strong sense of responsibility, offered to retire to make room for their younger colleagues".

This suggests that in this round of appointments, a number of senior CCP members stepped down of their own accord.

The article also reported that since April, Xi has separately sought the opinions of 30 senior leaders, including then Politburo members, secretariat members, vice-premiers, and Central Military Commission (CMC) members.

Following the CCP's 19th Party Congress in 2017, Xinhua had also published an article on how the 19th central leadership was formed. It was revealed that between April and June 2017, Xi had personally sought the suggestions of 57 senior leaders (including then leading cadres of the party and the state, and members of the CMC) and retired leaders.

Evidently, Xi did not talk to retired party elders this time, highlighting their diminished influence in high-level personnel appointments.

The article also said that Xi heard many opinions in the process, including "CCP and national leadership is not an 'iron seat', i.e., a permanent position" - one may not be renominated even if the age requirements are met, and that one can also be transferred, promoted or demoted - thereby establishing a set of leadership selection criteria in the new era.

The points on party and state leadership not being an "iron seat" and age not guaranteeing renomination were also mentioned in the Xinhua article in 2017.

CCP General Secretary Xi secured his third term in office as expected. According to Xinhua, he was "unanimously elected" as a 20th Party Congress delegate, 20th Central Committee member, and CCP general secretary at the Central Committee's first plenary session.

The article stated that standing at a new historical starting point and facing a more complex international environment, as well as the difficult and onerous task of domestic reform, development and maintaining stability, it was necessary to resolutely safeguard the "Two Establishes" and "Two Upholds", and to maintain the long-term stability of the core of the Central Committee and the party as a whole. This would ensure the continued development of the CCP and the peace and stability of the country.

Notably, the article revealed that the Politburo had reviewed and adopted the candidates for the central leadership on 29 September. Hence, the new leadership lineup was already confirmed prior to the seventh plenary session of the 19th Central Committee on 9 October.

For Lianhe Zaobao's special reports on the 20th Party Congress, click here.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as "官媒：部分党和国家领导人"主动退位" 习近平没有与元老谈新领导班子".

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