Remember Monday? Here’s Why We Added Two New Markets on China.
Like it or not, Chinese and US policies (and the politicians guiding them) impact each and every one of us – from the cost and availability of countless consumer products, to cyber security and technology concerns, and even information we have about the origins of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Still, for most Americans, the Chinese political system needs further explanation, especially if you want to trade in these markets.
The Chinese Communist Party is set to elect a new Central Committee at its next National Congress, which will take place in late 2022. Then, the new Central Committee will select the General Secretary who heads the committee’s elite 25-member Politburo and the uber-elite seven-member Standing Committee. This position has held “paramount leader” power over the party, the state and the military since the early 1990s when the General Secretary began serving concurrently as President of the People’s Republic of China and Chair of the Central Military Commission.
Xi Jinping became general secretary in 2012 and was selected for a second term in 2017. Since coming to power, Xi has consolidated his power and centralized policymaking authority under his control to an extent not seen perhaps since Mao Zedong. In March 2018, China’s legislature amended the State Constitution to delete the two-term limit for the president, removing the only formal barrier to Xi serving as “paramount leader” indefinitely.
