The large-scale personnel purges carried out by China’s leader Xi Jinping have created a serious problem for the country’s leadership. Due to the dismissal of senior officials and anti-corruption investigations, Beijing is facing a shortage of experienced candidates for key government and party positions. Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.
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About 23% of the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China are absent from its current meeting. This is a record-low level of attendance, demonstrating the scale of the personnel losses in China’s political system.
According to Bloomberg estimates, the average tenure of heads of provincial party organizations has fallen from 43 months at the beginning of Xi’s rule to 26.5 months during his third term.
Xi Jinping will have to look for new leaders among a limited pool of candidates
At the 2027 Party Congress, China is expecting a major reshuffle. In particular, if traditional age norms are observed, five of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee may leave their positions.
In addition, the Central Military Commission, which had seven members at the beginning of the current term, now has only two, including Xi Jinping himself. Vacancies in the Politburo also need to be filled following the removal of three of its members.
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Victor Shih, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, notes that the anti-corruption campaign has affected even the Chinese leader’s closest circle, complicating the search for candidates for promotion.
At the same time, Xi Jinping, who has turned 73, shows no intention of leaving power. According to Bloomberg’s assessment, he may receive another five-year term at the next Party Congress, but he faces the increasingly difficult task of forming a new leadership team.