Change of Reigns in China: Xi Jinping Takes Over as Country’s President, Military Commission Chief; Li Keqiang Becomes Nation’s Premier

Xi Jinping emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades after he was named President and head of the powerful Military Commission on March 14. He was also named chief of the ruling Communist Party, smoothly completing a 10-yearly transition of power in the world's second-largest economy. Officially, Xi is being elected for a five-year term, but barring extraordinary events the 59-year-old president will hold the position for a decade.

In addition to being the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which effectively rules the country, Xi has been appointed as the chairman of the powerful Military Commission, when he was elected as the new leader of the party in November 2012.

According to an official announcement here, Xi was elected as president by 3,000-strong National People’s Congress, which also endorsed his appointment as the chairman of the Military Commission.

The Military Commission supervises 2.3 million-strong and the world’s largest standing army called People’s Liberation Army (PLA), incorporating Army, Navy and Air Force.

Xi’s election a formality as the NPC, dominated by the CPC functionaries completed the once-in-a-decade power transfer from the administration headed by Hu, 70, who along with team of leaders including premier Wen Jiabao formally retires.

With today’s election Xi has emerged as the most powerful leader in China as heads the country, CPC and the Military.

The NPC also elected Li Yuanchao, a reformist and Politburo member of the CPC, as vice president. Yi who was reportedly picked by Xi ignoring pressures within the factions to energize the economic reform process to revitalize slowing economy.

Widely regarded as smooth transfer of power, Xi along with seven member standing committee of the CPC which virtually rules the country completed over 100 days in the leadership running various public campaigns against corruption, austerity both in the government and military and revamping the administration by cutting down size of cabinet.

Election of New Prime Minister

China’s annual Parliament confirmed Li Keqiang as the country’s new prime minister to replace Wen Jiabao on March 15, who retires after a decade in the post. Approximately 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress, the ruling Communist Party’s nominal state Parliament, endorsed Li’s recommendation by the party.

Li was nominated to the Congress by state president. He won 99.7 per cent of the 2,949 votes counted, with just three votes against him and six abstentions

Profile of New President

Xi is the son of one of China's most esteemed generals and known as a "princeling", the name given to relations of China's first generation of Communist leaders, who grew up immersed in the ruling party's upper echelons. But he has threatened to target not only lowly "flies" but also top-ranking "tigers" in corruption crackdowns, warning that graft could "kill the party".

Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi Jinping is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party's founding fathers.

Xi Zhongxun was purged from the post of vice-premier in 1962 prior to the Cultural Revolution and eventually imprisoned.

The younger Xi was then sent aged 15 to work in the remote village of Liangjiahe for seven years, like most other "intellectual youth" of the time.

A local village official who knew Xi at that time described him as "very sincere and honest", adding that he was just like one of them "so everybody liked him very much".

Xi has acknowledged that this time spent working alongside villagers was a key experience for him.

He went on to study chemical engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, which has produced many of China's current top leaders, including Hu Jintao.

Accepted into the party in 1974, Xi served as a local party secretary in Hebei province and then went on to ever more senior roles in Fujian and then Zhejiang provinces.

He was named party chief of Shanghai in 2007 when its former chief, Chen Liangyu, was sacked over corruption charges. Shortly after, he was promoted to the party's Standing Committee and became vice-president in 2008.

Challenges Ahead

In November 2012, in his first speech to the Communist Party’s elite Politburo,.Xi denounced the prevalence of corruption and said officials needed to guard against its spread or it would “doom the party and the state.”

In following month of the same,. Xi made his first trip outside of Beijing with a visit to special economic zone of Shenzhen in south China that has stood as a symbol of the nation’s embrace of a state-led form of capitalism. Xi’s trip was seen as a strong signal of support for greater market-oriented economic policies.

The new Chinese president is well-traveled and intimately familiar with the West. His daughter attends Harvard, and he is said to enjoy Hollywood films about the Second World War.

Hu, a onetime hydroelectric power technician, worked his way up through jobs in China’s hardscrabble interior. The new Chinese president is the son of a Communist Party aristocrat, Xi Zhongxun, who was present at the birth of China’s turn to capitalism and helped develop the special economic zone of Shenzhen.

Assessment

The Presidency coupled with the post of the chairman of the Military Commission which supervises 2.3 million-strong world's largest standing military, People's Liberation Army (PLA), gives him a head start to begin his 10-year stint in power.Hu got the post of head of the military from Jiang Zemin two years after he took over as the president.

While retiring, Hu ensured that the head of the country and the party has single power structure to ensure stability. Seen as having a zero-tolerance attitude towards corrupt officials, Xi has twice been drafted in to trouble-shoot major problems.

In Fujian, he helped to clear up a corruption scandal in the late 1990s which involved the jailed smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing.

Xi takes charge at a time when the public is looking for leadership that can address sputtering economic growth and mounting anger over widespread graft, high-handed officialdom and increasing unfairness. A growth-at-all-costs model that defined the outgoing administration's era has befouled the country's air, waterways and soil, adding another serious threat to social stability.

China Considers Singapore as First Choice for Overseas Cadre Training

During the last weekend when visiting People's Republic of China Politburo Member cum CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee Secretary General and Central Committee Organization Department Minister Li Yuanchao was at National University of Singapore (NUS) Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to preside over the opening ceremony of the Senior Master Degree of Public Administration and Management course, Li said: "We see Singapore as our first choice for our leading cadres' overseas training.

This is because Singapore and China have good relations, this is also because Singapore is willing to truly help the development of China and assist China in the training of our leading cadres. Moreover, Singapore's development experience can serve as a special reference to China also." Li Yuanchao's remark indeed carried with it a very positive meaning and outlook for the future development between Singapore and China.

Leadership Training and Exchange
In the past few years, Singapore and China have put strong emphasis on the importance of leadership training and exchange. For a long time, Singapore has engaged in the provision of the training of leading cadres in China. Nevertheless in his capacity as China's Central Committee Organization Department Minister, Li Yuanchao has now made it a point to confirm that Singapore's development experience could serve as a special reference for China.

Such confirmation has also highlighted that, this "special" development is also one of the special relationship between Singapore and China. Some people might think that when there is a world of difference between Singapore's small size and China's broad and complex landscape, it is impossible for China to make a special reference to Singapore in term of Singapore's development experience.

National Needs and International Situation
The fact is that, as a world recognized city-state, the formation of Singapore's political system, the establishment of Singapore's development and economic model, and the improvement of them have always gone through the process of in-depth review in response to national need and international situation. The experience of Singapore's People's Action Party that has been functioned as the ruling party from the time Singapore was established until present day is a rare example in the international arena. In the process of development, what Singapore has shown to the world is that this process is maintained and established using its own unique system that suits its own country.

When Singapore faces all kinds of challenges, Singapore will continue to go through the process of self-discovery and self-innovation. Chinese leaders see and understand Singapore's uniqueness. This is called "China knows Singapore." In the same token, Singapore leaders also see and understand the structure and development of China's uniqueness and have never held back its desire in wanting to share Singapore's experience with China. This is what we call "Singapore knows China." It is this type of unique relationship between the two countries that, besides the two countries sharing the deep rooted culture, economy, and a sense of regional security, Singapore and China also share this additional layer of unique relationship. This unique relationship between the two countries has also allowed Singapore and China to have another pipeline to understand and to dialogue with each other.

Bilateral Exchange Programs
China's Central Organization Department has already sent more than 1000 senior level cadres to Singapore for training. Over the past years, more than 30,000 Chinese cadres from other parts of China have also come to Singapore to receive short-term training through the bilateral exchange programs. Before the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the National University of Singapore (NUS) 's School of Management jointly launch the Senior Master Degree of Public Administration and Management, back in 1998, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has already founded the Master Degree of Management Economics popularly referred by the Chinese officials as the "Mayor Class." These two graduate management degree courses have trained and nurtured close to 1,000 senior and mid-level Chinese Government officials.

In fact, NTU's 's involvement in helping to train China's young leading cadres can even be traced to much earlier period in 1992 when the university provided short term training courses for the Chinese government officials. In 2009, the NTU converted the office responsible for the setting up of the Chinese oriented "Mayor Class" as the NTU Graduate School of Public Administration. It is obvious that it is NTU's intention to upgrade and enhance the standard of this branded master degree in order to provide even more professional and perfect curriculum for its master degree courses catered for the need of the Chinese young leaders.

Where is Problem?
Li Yuanchao's clear affirmation of Singapore as China's overseas training base for its leading cadres does not mean that these two national universities in Singapore can take for granted that this is their role and achievement. Whether it is the NTU Graduate School of Public Administration, or the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS, both universities should continue to work together to maintain and create Singapore as the golden brand name.

As always, these two national universities in Singapore should sincerely in wanting to help train China's leading cadres in good faith. Between the two compatible universities, having a degree of competition is a good thing. As Li Yuanchao said, under the overall leadership training program for China's hundreds of millions cadres, tens and thousands of them would be sent for overseas training. As such, for the "Mayor Class" conducted by the two national universities to attract enough students and staff is not a problem.

The problem is that if there is a higher demand for the "Mayor Class", these two universities must have enough good faulty members to shoulder this type of unique public administration and management courses. This will require not only the university authorities to come out with long-term plan and to invest in sufficient resources to carry out these special courses, from overall perspectives, it will also need Singapore authorities to take relevant consideration and appropriate plan.