China’s top leaders appear at National Day event as clock counts down to major reshuffle
- President Xi Jinping was joined by other senior officials at Great Hall of the People and the Martyrs’ Day ceremony in Beijing
- The Communist Party is preparing for next month’s national congress, where Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term at the helm
In a show of solidarity, President Xi Jinping and other members of the Chinese leadership attended a National Day celebration in Beijing on Friday night, one of their last public appearances before a major leadership reshuffle next month.
A number of former members of the Politburo, the Communist Party’s 25-strong decision-making body, also attended the event at the Great Hall of the People but there were no retired members of the inner circle, the Standing Committee.
Addressing the event, Premier Li Keqiang said the party’s national congress next month came at “a critical moment”, with the country marching towards the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country.
Li said that despite complex and severe domestic and international conditions, the country had made advances, including “coordinating epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development”.
He also hailed Xi as the core of the leadership and reaffirmed government policy on Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Xi did not make a speech at the event but in the morning, he led other members of the Chinese leadership at a ceremony to honour national heroes.
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None of those attending Friday’s ceremony was wearing a mask, despite the fact the many areas of the country are facing severe Covid-19 restrictions and mass testing.
Tiananmen Square and the capital’s main thoroughfare have been decorated with big flower arrangements and huge banners that read: “[We] joyfully welcome the 20th party congress.”
Li Zhanshu, head of the National People’s Congress and the third most powerful man in the party’s power structure, also returned to China recently after a trip earlier this month to four neighbouring countries, including Russia.
The congress, set to begin on October 16, is expected to herald a third term for Xi as the party’s chief, and will usher in a new leadership team.
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The party is also likely to amend its charter to further elevate Xi’s status.
During Friday’s ceremony, senior military leaders and Beijing-based members of the Politburo observed a moment of silence before placing wreaths and flower baskets in front of the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
Friday is the ninth Martyrs’ Day, an annual event that began in 2014, two years after Xi took the helm.
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The event pays tribute to those who gave their lives defending the country in a range of conflicts, including the first opium war with the British in 1840, against Japan in the second world war and the subsequent civil war in which the Communists defeated the Nationalists, or Kuomintang.
