Border worry for India as China drops 'moderate' Yang Jiechi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 23

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday unveiled a new-look Standing Committee of the Politburo packed with his loyalists and none in a position to challenge him for the next five years either due to the age factor or because they are political lightweights.

Off politburo panel

• Yang Jiechi is one of the four dropped from the Standing Committee of the Politburo
• He had a more restrained approach on border issue

After being formally elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China on Sunday morning, Xi led the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo before the media. An official communiqué also announced a 24-member Politburo, one less than last time.

However, in an indication of tough times ahead for India on the border question, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been promoted from the Central Committee to the Politburo. Wang is credited with China taking to “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy”, an in-your-face aggressive diplomatic style cultivated under Xi’s leadership.

Wang will now have the field to himself because his predecessor and party senior, Yang Jiechi, who earlier led the border talks with India, is one of the four dropped from the all-powerful Standing Committee of the Politburo. It was believed that Yang had a more restrained approach not only on the Indian border issue than Wang but also on Taiwan and US relations.

The Communist Party of China’s Central Committee session, presided over by Xi, was attended by 203 members and 168 alternate members. The Central Committee approved the 24-member Politburo, which then elected the seven-member Standing Committee, which now has only Xi supporters. Only Zhao and Wang are members of the previous committee.

The Politburo also announced Xi’s reappointment to another crucial position — the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Like his previous two tenures, Xi is the only civilian in the CMC.

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