China: Xi's third term. What went wrong? | WION Wideangle

foreign [Music] on the 10th of March this year in beijing's Great Hall of the people a carefully choreographed ceremony took place in ping held up his right Fist and placed his left hand on a red leather copy of China's Constitution foreign the oath was beamed live on state television across China she vowed to build a prosperous strong Democratic civilized harmonious and great modern socialist country Xi Jinping was handed an unprecedented third term as president capping an ascent and becoming China's most powerful leader in Generations do you do Kim sign up national people's Congress or MPC a largely ceremonial legislature unanimously endorsed Xi Jinping with all of its 2952 present members casting votes in favor of History appointment re-election is the culmination of a remarkable rise from a relatively little-known party member to the leader of a global superpower is the Chinese leader Xi Jinping really a global force to be reckoned with [Music] halfway through 2023 China is facing a Confluence of problems and the picture isn't looking all that perfect Xi Jinping uh began his uh third term as president uh only in March of this year and as Secretary General of the party last October but already he's been faced with uh all kinds of controversies and challenges ranging from the economy domestically International uh issues ranging from Taiwan to Ukraine and of course U.S relations and most recently and most puzzlingly the abrupt departure removal of some of his close allies and some of the highest positions in the Chinese government especially in foreign affairs in the military the departure of the foreign minister Qing gong is still a mystery China's defense has not been seen in public for more than two weeks now and has reportedly missed several meetings [Music] another abrupt disappearance the start of the Chinese foreign minister zhengdan in the month of July it was later announced that qingang had been removed from his post so what's the mystery surrounding China's missing ministers [Music] China's economy is facing multiple challenges sluggish consumer spending a crisis-ridden property Market flagging exports youth unemployment and government debt thus xi's government have the ability to recognize and fix the economy's deep-seated problems since the start of the war in Ukraine Xi Jinping China's president has been unwavering in his support for his friend Putin although she has not openly endorsed Russia's Invasion he has refused to condemn it and has echoed many of its justifications for the war why and how has China shown support for Russia this year Chinese president Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi the decision has marked a departure from his consistent attendance at previous G20 meetings it has raised questions about China's underlying reason for not attending G20 [Music] China's belt and Road initiative popularly called Bri seems to be in big trouble [Music] a part of the Chinese campaign to emerge as the world leader Bri has been criticized over the years for plunging host countries into debt traps and creating infrastructure projects that have little value recently Italy the only country from the G7 in China's Bri declared that it is going to exit China's ambitious project why did it take this decision let's dig deeper thank you Disappearing Acts have become a recurring theme in China there is a history of well-known personalities Vanishing from public view for days industrialist Jack ma tennis player feng shui and actress fan Bing Bing or some famous examples all three of them reappeared in public after some time the month of July speculation intensified around the whereabouts of Chinese leader XI jinping's hand-picked foreign minister chin gang who also went missing he wasn't seen in public for more than three weeks the minister skipped major diplomatic engagements fueling speculation about what happened to him both inside and outside China she picked chin as his Envoy to Washington in 2021 even though chin hadn't previously served as an ambassador nor had he handled any portfolios directly related to china-u.s affairs considered a trusted Aid to she Jin climbed the ranks from being an Envoy to a foreign minister in less than two years an unusually fast promotion in a system that traditionally values experience in addition to political connections Qing gang from his ministerial Post in Late July just seven months after he started the job his tenure was the shortest in that role no explanation was given for his removal his predecessor Huang Yi was reinstated on the 19th of September it is reported that China removed Qin gang from the position after an investigation concluded that he had an affair and fathered a child in the U.S while serving as U.S ambassador now remains under investigation for possible National Security violations moving on the most recent senior Communist Party official to disappear from public view is General Lee Shang Fu China's defense minister it's been three weeks since he was last seen in public and there is still no official confirmation about what has happened to the man who is the public face of China's military Lee along with eight other senior officials is under investigation for the corrupt procurement of military equipment relating to his time at the Helm of the equipment division of the central military commission the military's ruling body between September 2017 and October 2022 the incident is Raising questions about the durability of XI jinping's cabinet after Lee became the second high-profile minister to disappear with little or no explanation from public view the troubles involving the senior diplomatic and military officials whose appointments were all approved by she speak about the opaque and perhaps flawed vetting process that senior appointments are subject to under she's rule as the CCP has moved away from the collective leadership of a decade ago to the centralized rule of she questioning xi's judgment as become increasingly dangerous Xi Jinping has started he began an anti-corruption move within the military as soon as he became uh Secretary General 10 years ago a little more than 10 years ago and uh it's just been a continuing problem for him the fact that this is happening among people who were hand-picked by him all three of those the defense minister foreign minister and the head of the rocket Force were close allies and chosen personally by Xi Jinping thank you in the first few years of Xi Jinping China witnessed rapid economic growth Rising wealth big spending on the military in fact it was the only major world economy to experience GDP growth in 2020 when its GDP increased by 2.3 percent and then with the onset of the covid-19 pandemic things changed for Beijing in the year 2022 it posted one of its worst economic performances in decades because of the covid-19 crisis and the U.S China trade War China's economic slowdown which started in April 2023 became a clear indication that the country's post-covered recovery ran out of steam concerns for the world's second largest economy further intensified after the country reported weaker than expected economic activity data for the month of July the data highlighted intensifying pressure on the economy from multiple fronts prompting Beijing to cut key policy rates to shore up activity just before the release of a batch of July data China's Central Bank unexpectedly chopped one set of key interest rates and followed it with cuts on other rates hours later underlining the rapid loss of the post-covered economic rebound that has shaken Global Financial markets I think I'm Xi Jinping is yes I think he is losing his grip uh somewhat on the control of the economy and directing it in the direction he wants additionally China suspended publishing youth jobless data which hit a record high of 21.3 percent in June the world's second largest economy is also facing a crisis in its once booming property sector the crisis has been gaining momentum since evergrant one of the country's largest property developers failed to make bond payments in 2021 and the story is just not restricted to evergrant many International companies are relocating their Investments and Asian headquarters out of China due to Growing unease regarding security controls and interference of xi's government an unfavorable business environment can plunge China's economy further now with the very strict centralization that's very where very few people can give Authority for things that actually inhibits I think his ability to uh to stay in control and to guide the economy in the direction he wants um he has implemented this foreign Espionage Act that is targeting foreign companies and uh and foreigners and so you're seeing a drastic uh downfall a plummet of foreign investment foreign tourism foreign incidents and I would say uh foreign investment I meant and foreign confidence in in C in February last year three weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing a joint statement by the two leaders announced that friendship between Russia and China has no limits the two leaders have met more than 40 times in recent years they have increasingly grown familiar and now refer to each other as dear friends [Music] has become an increasingly important trading partner for Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago Western Nations imposed strict sanctions on Russia Banning Imports of oil and exports of high-tech products many Western firms had cut their connections with Russia entirely and its trade with the U.S UK and EU countries slumped over the course of 2022 however China's overall trade with Russia hit a record high level of 190 billion dollars in 2022 a 30 increase on the year before [Music] Russia and China have built stronger ties in recent decades supporting each other on various Global issues as they seek to counter U.S influence the war in Ukraine has laid bare Global divisions and Partnerships [Music] the West has armed Kiev and sanctioned Russia while China strengthened its relationship with Moscow China has refrained from publicly condemning Russia's military aggression which has drawn criticism from Ukraine the United States and its allies but China and Russia seem to have forged a friendship with no limits this [Music] at the invitation of the government of Republic of India premier of the state Council Lee Yang will attend the 18 G20 Summit with this statement China confirmed that President XI won't be attending the G20 leader Summit that was held in New Delhi on the 9th and 10th of September the invite to she was rejected just two weeks after he attended The brics Summit in South Africa in fact president XI and Prime Minister Modi had met on the sidelines of The Summit in Johannesburg the leaders agreed to step up efforts to expedite the Border troops disengagement and de-escalate in Western sector of ladakh along the line of actual control but divisions re-emerged over a potential expansion of the group both Russia and China are Keen to Breathe new life into the brics block intending to boost its Global clout ever since Putin announced that he wouldn't be able to attend the G20 event because of the Ukraine war all eyes were on she remember she has never skipped a G20 event since assuming office in March 2013. did he take this decision to avoid any possible isolation from the West on a global stage Chinese foreign policy generally fears about isolationism among the community of Nations uh that includes if President Putin had communicated on August 28 that he is not attending then flowing from the Bali meeting of two is to 18 that is Russia and China against the 18 other members of the G20 then it is quite possible if president XI visits New Delhi then he would have been isolated this is the worst case scenario for China's foreign policy that would be very hard for them to swallow but after the event fellow G20 Nations hailed India's success in reaching an agreement on a joint communique that remained in question just days before world leaders gathered in New Delhi not only that apart from finding consensus on the war in Ukraine the African Union was also made a part of the G20 group the event also took action on issues like climate change and debt sustainability which are priorities of Emerging Markets a strong message was sent out India and other members succeeded at the G20 without China's she [Music] and then there was this India us EU and Saudi Arabia announced India middle east Europe economic Corridor on the sidelines of the G20 leader Summit in New Delhi the mega project is being seen as the Rival of China's belt and Road initiative [Music] foreign this is what Chinese president Xi Jinping had to say at the first ever Silk Road Summit held in May 2017 in Beijing she hosted leaders from 29 Nations to Showcase his cherished one belt one road initiative that he launched in 2013. later it was rebranded simply as the belt and Road initiative the modern route under the Bri seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and Maritime networks with this ambitious project China aims to stabilize its Western peripheries and rekindle its economy China touted it as a project of the century with an estimated cost of over one trillion dollars the project is aimed at constructing highways Bridges hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure but of late she's grand plan seems to be losing its footing China's Bri is running into several issues in its partner countries in a private meeting during the group of G20 Summit held in India Italian Prime Minister giorgia Maloney conveyed Italy's plans to withdraw from the Bri this move comes as the investment pact has increasingly become a litmus test for Italy's relations with the United States Italy is the only G7 country to sign up for the Bri which it did in 2019 G7 is the grouping of advanced economies of U.S the United Kingdom Canada France Germany Italy and Japan with the European Union as a non-enumerated member Italy joined the Bri at a time when it was desperate for investment and infrastructure building having survived three recessions in 10 years its government at the time did not share warm relations with the EU and was happy to turn to China for the funds it could pump in four years later the agreement hasn't done much for Italy for Beijing a G7 country joining the Bri had been a big diplomatic win and Rome walking out just ahead of the initiative's 10th anniversary will be a loss of face Italy's decision to exit the investment pact indicates a significant policy shift and underscores the delicate balance the nation must maintain between its International relationships especially with the United States and China Belt Road initiative is definitely failing and I don't think it will survive this decade [Music] foreign [Music] leaders don't mince words echoing their thoughts about sheep recently German foreign minister analena berbach called Xi Jinping a dictator in a television interview in the U.S Beijing lashed out at Germany and summoned the German ambassador in June this year U.S President Joe Biden also referred to XI as a dictator sparking a fierce backlash from Beijing the Chinese government had reportedly reprimanded the U.S ambassador to China over the comments made by the U.S president [Music] she's a third term might have set him up to become modern China's longest serving head of state which means she could well rule into his 70s if his health permits and no competitor emerges [Music] however in less than a year things have started looking unfavorable for the country a storm of turbulence is roiling she's hand-picked ruling Elite raising questions about his judgment and dampening International confidence in his governance Chinese citizens and businesses are losing confidence in the ability of the government to recognize and fix China's deep-rooted problems for Chinese people what is the the the Chinese dream their personal dream is one of the main ones is home ownership and if they're unable to obtain loans to to gain home ownership or if they're unable to to companies are unable to complete housing for people to purchase that is a a serious serious uh blow to Chinese consumers and it all does eventually lead back to Xi Jinping I think CG pings control over China is weakening uh despite his attempts at imposing stronger Central Authority will Xi Jinping pay heed to the piling internal and Global rage against China his own future at multiple levels depends on it [Music] [Music]

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Id: n-JXXVtpb_w

Length: 24min 6sec (1446 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 21 2023