China's international position in the 'Xi Jinping era'

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AP.

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has included "Xi Jinping Thought" in the party charter, elevating Mr. Xi's position to the same level as that of late leader Mao Zedong. Analysts say this will not only help Mr. Xi consolidate his power in Beijing's politics, but also create conditions for him to build a new position for China in the international arena, according to CNN.

"Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China, Deng Xiaoping brought prosperity to the country and now Xi Jinping will bring power," said Frank Ching, an expert on Chinese politics.

In his opening speech at the congress, Xi announced the beginning of a “new era” for China, outlining his ambition to turn the country into a leading global superpower by 2050. To achieve this ambition, China will become increasingly assertive and take on more roles on the international stage, of which the Belt and Road Initiative is an important part.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida in April. Photo: Reuters.

Writer James McGregor, who has published a book on China, believes that China is trying to fill the gap in world power in the context of the US retreating from its global leadership role with President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, and Europe becoming more unstable than ever. "The world needs to find a new leader and China is trying to take on that role," McGregor commented.

"Mr. Xi has exploited a strategic opportunity in Asia thanks to the caution of former US President Barack Obama's administration and the chaos of the current Trump administration," experts at the Lowy Institute in Australia assessed.

Continue to take a tough stance

On the North Korea issue, the focal point of the US-China confrontation, Beijing has also clearly shown its stance of avoiding Washington's constant pressure to increase pressure on Pyongyang, even though it has voiced support for sanctions or restricted some of North Korea's business activities in China.

Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing, said China is unlikely to change its stance on North Korea after the party congress. He said the Trump administration's policy of immediately denuclearizing the Korean peninsula "is really seen as a fantasy, unrealistic in China."

Seven members of the 19th Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) were introduced to domestic and international media on October 25. Photo: AP.

According to Tong, it is unlikely that Beijing will succumb to pressure from Washington to take tougher action against Pyongyang because it risks affecting China's own economy and destabilizing neighboring North Korea.

China has recently begun to increase military cooperation with Russia. The two countries conducted a joint naval exercise near St Petersburg in August. Russia is also a major contributor to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China has also poured money into investment and increased aid into Europe and Africa through economic projects and infrastructure construction. In some developing countries, Beijing tends to gradually replace Washington as the main donor.

China is now “present globally and when the US retreats, they will take its place,” Ching commented.

However, according to McGregor, despite benefiting from the current "power gap" in the world, China will still face many challenges in its ambition to build a new position in the international arena, due to the fact that this country does not have as many allies and partners as the US.

"China doesn't have many friends right now because of the hard-line stance they've taken on many international issues. Their goal is to make China strong and self-reliant," McGregor said. "I don't think they're looking at the implications of that for the world and how it makes the world see China."

According to VNE