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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s No. 2 official and a major proponent of economic reform, is four of the seven members of the country’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee who will not be re-elected in Sunday’s leadership shakeup.
His departure, revealed at the end of a key party meeting on Saturday, will be seen as further affirmation of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s firm grip on power in the world’s second-largest economy.
Li Keqiang and three others were missing after the ruling Communist Party’s new 205-member Central Committee was approved at the closing session of a week-long party congress that sets its leadership and agenda for the next five years.
Only members of the Central Committee can serve as members of the Standing Committee.
The text of the amendment was not immediately released, but before it was approved, an announcer read out the rationale behind it, repeatedly referring to Xi Jinping and his achievements in strengthening the military and the economy and consolidating the party’s authority.
In his brief closing remarks, Xi said the revision “made clear requirements for upholding and strengthening the party’s overall leadership.”
At the last National Congress in 2017, the party elevated Xi’s status by including Xi Jinping’s thoughts, known as Xi Jinping Thought, in the party constitution.
The other three standing committee members to be removed were Han Zheng, the party secretary of Shanghai, Wang Yang, the head of the party’s advisory body, and Li Zhanshu, a longtime ally of Xi and the head of the highly ceremonial National People’s Congress.
Xi is expected to retain the top spot when the new standing committee is unveiled on Sunday.
Li Keqiang will remain prime minister for about six months before appointing a new list of government ministers.
If he remains on the standing committee, it would signal possible opposition within the leadership to Mr. Xi’s move to expand the state’s control over the economy, which analysts say would be a drag on China’s growth.
About 2,000 delegates to the party congress — wearing blue surgical masks under China’s strict zero-coronavirus policy — met in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.
Foreign media were not allowed into the first part of the meeting, presumably while voting was underway.
Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, was escorted from power shortly after foreign media entered, sparking speculation about his health.
Mr. Hu, 79, looked a little disoriented as two aides helped him to his feet, but he had a brief conversation with Xi Jinping, who was sitting next to the front row.
There are no official comments.
Jiang Zemin, 96, who served as president before Hu Jintao, did not attend the conference.
Only 11 of the 205 Central Committee members are women, or about 5% of the total.
These percentages are about the same as the previous Central Committee.
Police are stationed on the main road, with red-clad Neighborhood Watch workers patrolling it regularly to keep an eye out for any potential disturbance.
Last week, a man surprised authorities when he unfurled a banner on an overpass in Beijing calling for Xi Jinping’s resignation and slamming his government’s draconian epidemic restrictions.
A week ago, a report read by Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China showed his determination to stick to the current path in the face of domestic and international challenges.
During his first decade in power, Xi Jinping emerged as one of the most powerful leaders in modern China, rivaling Mao Zedong, who founded the communist state in 1949 and led it for 25 years.
Xi has placed loyalists in key positions and personally oversees policy working groups.
By contrast, under the leadership of his two predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, some ideas were discussed within party factions, said Hong Haofeng, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University.
“Right now, you don’t really see a lot of party debate about these different policies, there’s just one voice there,” he said.
Xi Jinping emphasized the central role of the Communist Party in China’s development and future, expanding the state’s control over society and the economy.
In his speech, he said the party, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, was still in its prime.
“The Chinese Communist Party has once again embarked on a new journey and will face new tests,” Xi said.
The congress ended with the playing of the communist national anthem “The Internationale”.
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