What Seating Says About Power Around Xi at China’s NPC Meeting

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(Bloomberg) -- Where you sit can often tell your status in the office hierarchy. It’s no different at the National People’s Congress, where Xi Jinping’s allies are all crammed around the Chinese leader.

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When the country’s rubber-stamp legislature kicked off its annual session on Sunday, the cavernous Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square was packed with the country’s political elites. Only the rostrum is slightly more crowded this year, as the ongoing congress will ring out the old guard and bring in a new slate of senior leaders packed with loyalists to Xi.

Nearly 3,000 delegates to the NPC are gathering this week to endorse the people who’ll make up the country’s leadership for the next five years — including the premier and cabinet-level ministers, as well as the head of the central bank.

The second row of seats is usually saved for members of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo, the party’s decision-making body. This year, though, the outgoing leaders have squeezed in alongside the newcomers expected to take their place, similar to the last reshuffle five years ago, stretching out the table like extra guests for Thanksgiving dinner.

Xi, who sits in the center, was flanked by new allies — including Li Qiang, who is expected to take over from outgoing Li Keqiang as premier, and other subordinates. Wang Qishan, who will be retiring as vice president, also got a seat even though he no longer has a major party role.

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Outgoing Politburo member Sun Chunlan, who spearheaded the country’s campaign to stamp out Covid-19 over the past three years, was the only woman seated in the second row. Her departure will leave the powerful body an all-men’s club for the first time in more than two decades.

Read More: China Politburo Excludes Women for First Time in 25 Years

The rest of the seats on the rostrum were mostly taken by the NPC’s over 190 presidium members. That included executive chairpersons led by Zhao Leji, the party’s No. 3 who is expected to take over as the country’s top legislator. The chairpersons bear operational duties such as convening meetings during NPC sessions.

The presidium is expected to nominate candidates for China’s top leadership — including president, vice president and military chief, as well as top judge and prosecutor, among others. The list of nominees would then be put to a vote by NPC delegates.

There is little doubt that Xi will get a norm-busting third term as the president on March 10. The only suspense is whether he will get unanimous support again as he did five years ago.

--With assistance from Jin Wu (News).

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