Rumours emerge of disharmony within China’s leadership
But little evidence suggests Xi Jinping faces a challenge
Amid their frantic efforts to halt the spread of covid-19 and revive a sputtering economy, officials around China have also had to attend some routine meetings. They involve lectures on the need for absolute loyalty to the country’s leader, Xi Jinping. “Turn your hearts to the general secretary”, rural bureaucrats were instructed at one such gathering this month in south-western China. Later this year Mr Xi is expected to be anointed for another five years as Communist Party chief. The strong unspoken message of these meetings is that no one else can do the job.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “How to see Xi”
From the May 28th 2022 edition
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