China's President Xi Jinping faces hurdles ahead of this year's National Congress meeting as people in China begin to feel, deep down, that they may have a different top leader in five years, their attitudes may well change from that moment forward, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
As things stand now, there is only one thing that everybody is sure of: that Xi, who doubles as party general secretary, will not retire at this upcoming national congress this year. What more he can secure will depend on how his political battles go over the next nine months or so sixth plenary session of the Chinese Communist Party's 19th Central Committee in November this year.
If a leader of a democratic country has another five years in office, there is little talk of him or her becoming a lame-duck anytime soon. But this common sense does not apply in China, where everything is decided through a power struggle within the party, of which outsiders know little, according to Nikkei Asia.
Earlier, former President Hu Jintao began to lose his grip on domestic issues and diplomacy as early as 2008, the year after his second term began at the national congress the autumn before.
Disobedience toward Hu Jina who was set to retire a few years later also affected China's diplomacy toward Japan. China failed to implement an agreement with Japan on gas fields in the East China Sea, a deal reached Hu Jintao's initiative.
The 2008 agreement initially presaged reconciliation between the Asian neighbours. But negotiations on the treaty, which concerned joint development of the gas fields, failed to progress and ran aground, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
On the other hand, Xi Jinping proclaims anti-corruption campaign as biggest achievement and the administration warns that it will tighten its political stranglehold in the run-up to the national congress.
The successful fight against corruption is about Xi's only achievement. And with the Chinese economy slumping, Xi has no choice but to barrel ahead with his signature campaign to take down enemies.
If the administration succeeds again, Xi will be able to not only secure another five-year term but also have the power to name the new lineup of the Politburo Standing Committee in a way that is favourable to him.
If people feel Xi will reign as China's top leader for at least another 10 years, or even for life, he can avoid becoming a lame duck, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
( With inputs from ANI )
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