Chinese President Xi Jinping's government is set to make a series of promotions this year, giving a first look at the rising generation of officials who are set to become the country's next top leaders, reports UNN citing Bloomberg.
According to Asia Society, about one-fifth of China's local leaders are expected to step down in 2025. This shakeup will create space for officials born in the 1970s to start reaching full ministerial rank.
The achievements of the post-70s generation are being watched closely because they will be in their sixties - when Chinese bureaucrats typically reach the peak of their careers - when Xi reaches eighty. This is a period when China's top leader may hand over more power to his aides or perhaps even retire.
Among those going forward is Liu Jie, who this month became China's youngest provincial governor after being elevated in Zhejiang province, a wealthy tech hub that helped propel Xi to power. Two others in their fifties are already at the same level of leadership.
“The longer Xi stays in power, the more likely it is that his future successor will be drawn from the post-70s generation,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow in Chinese politics at the Center for China Analysis at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. “It's also possible that Xi will break more norms and keep his close allies in power well beyond the traditional retirement age, ushering in a new era of old-age politics in Beijing.
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China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong has departed from a quarter-century tradition to skip identifying a successor at the last party congress in 2022, according to the publication. The 71-year-old man cleared the way for lifetime rule and gave no indication he would step down at the next reshuffle in 2027, eliminating all contenders. That raises questions about the future of the political system that runs the world's second-largest economy.
The discussion of young cadres rising through the ranks is becoming increasingly sensitive. On Jan. 2, the Shanghai Observer news outlet published an article listing promising young officials born in the 1970s, without making any assumptions. A few days later, that report was removed from the Internet, as were others on the same topic. The link now returns a 404 message, which is usually a sign of censorship.
As the ruling Communist Party is expected to hold a conclave this year, known as the Fourth Plenum, where party-building issues are usually discussed, disciplinary and personnel issues will be in the spotlight.