As the world watches Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US president has dealt a savage blow to the US’s main competitor – China.
It was a show of power by the Chinese president. On Sunday, Xi Jinping was elected party general secretary for the third time for a five-year term at the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party. As a result, the de facto two-term limitation was lifted, making Xi the most powerful leader in China since Mao Zedong, who led the party from 1945 until his death in 1976.
His speech at the opening of the party congress, just over a week ago, also made it clear that he wants to continue on the path of the most populous country in the world. Among other things, he said China needs to “win the battle” on core technologies. What they are from Beijing’s perspective has been known since the 2015 “Made in China” strategy: among other things, it’s about aerospace, robot technology, energy production or biomedicine. The expansion of these technologies should further increase the country’s economic power – but also its military strength. And the latter is significant given the conflict over Taiwan – which China sees as a breakaway province. In his speech, Xi also stated that “we will never promise to renounce military force”.