ការវិភាគ៖ ការចូលរួមរបស់លោក Xi ទៅហុងកុង ស៊ីនជាំង ទំនងជាស្នូលនៃក្រុមថ្មី

 The select officials who joined the leader on recent trips are set for promotions

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently went on two long-haul domestic trips, to Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, each requiring four-hour flights.

The journeys came at a politically sensitive time, but both with good reason.

They aimed to showcase Xi's ability to achieve stable governance in the troubled regions. Hong Kong was rocked by a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 and 2020, culminating in the introduction of a controversial national security law.

In Xinjiang, China's crackdown on Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities has come under international condemnation.

While the developments in Hong Kong and Xinjiang seem hardly commendable by global standards, this is not a consideration for the Chinese leader. His target audience is the Beidaihe meeting, set to take place in the coming days.

The secretive conclave is held annually at the seaside resort of the same name in Hebei Province. It is where China's incumbent leaders and retired party elders informally discuss important issues -- such as the composition of the next leadership team.

This year's Beidaihe is especially sensitive, coming ahead of the Chinese Communist Party's quinquennial national congress, where this autumn Xi will seek to secure an unprecedented third term as China's top leader.

The fact that Xi can only point to Hong Kong and Xinjiang as examples of "achievements" is telling.

Initially, the plan was to proudly highlight China's successful containment of COVID-19. While the novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China brought its outbreaks under control earlier than other nations were able to put out their own viral fires. That was thanks to Xi's strict zero-COVID policy, which calls for widespread testing and harsh lockdowns.

But the plan derailed after the megacity of Shanghai was forced into a long lockdown, much to the anger of locals and businesses. The battle against the virus is no longer an achievement everyone agrees on.

Neither does Xi have much to boast about in regard to his economic policies.

The Chinese economy is experiencing a sharp slowdown due to the zero-COVID policy. But even before the Shanghai lockdown, the economy was losing steam due to the Xi administration's crackdown on the tech, education and property industries.

Even Xi's close aides no longer utter his "common prosperity" slogan.

This is why he has to emphasize Hong Kong's and Xinjiang's "stability."

Meanwhile, attracting attention among China watchers is the lineup of close aides who accompanied Xi on his trips to the two regions.

In short, those who were selected to be in his entourages to Hong Kong and Xinjiang are likely to be on his new leadership team.

One figure who joined Xi on the Hong Kong trip was Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Five years ago, when the leader last visited Hong Kong, he was accompanied by top diplomat Yang Jiechi, who months later was promoted to the party's 25-member Politburo.

Some think Wang will follow the same path as Yang. But Wang's biggest weak point is his age. At 68, Wang was born in the same year as Xi. If the party's unofficial retirement age of 68 is strictly minded, Wang's promotion becomes uncertain.

Those who accompanied Xi on that 2017 visit to Hong Kong gained politically. Li Zhanshu, who was director of the party's General Office, and Wang Huning, who was director of the party's Central Policy Research Office, were promoted to China's top seven, becoming Politburo Standing Committee members.

From this viewpoint, Ding Xuexiang -- the 59-year-old current director of the General Office who accompanied Xi to Hong Kong and Xinjiang -- is tipped to be promoted to the Standing Committee.

A notable member of both entourages was Wang Xiaohong, 65, who on June 24 was appointed minister of public security, the police chief. Having known Xi for over three decades, since their time together in Fujian Province, Wang is one of Xi's closest aides.

Pan Yue, 62, accompanied Xi on his recent trip to Xinjiang. Pan was appointed as head of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, a ministerial-level post whose holder is in charge of policies toward ethnic minorities. Commissioners had been ethnic minorities themselves for many years. Pan's predecessor altered that tradition in 2020. Pan, like 92% of China's population, is Han.

In Xi's China, the emphasis is on the unity of the "Chinese nation" -- more than highlighting ethnic cultures -- and Pan's appointment reflects this.

He Lifeng, 67, is also an associate who goes back to Xi's days in Fujian. He currently serves as chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission and is seen as a candidate for a Politburo seat.

While he did not accompany Xi on either trip, He Lifeng delivered a speech in Beijing ahead of the Xinjiang visit. In it, he lavished praise on the leader, describing him as a Marxist stateman, thinker and strategist with deep insight and astute judgment.

Xi's visit to Hong Kong was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the territory's return to Chinese rule.

While expressing his confidence about Hong Kong's stability after the national security law took force there, Xi's behavior betrayed a persistent distrust of Hong Kong citizens.

Xi arrived in Hong Kong on June 30 but did not stay overnight. Instead, he returned to Shenzhen, an adjacent Chinese city, only to head back to Hong Kong the following morning to attend the anniversary ceremony.

One explanation was that Xi feared becoming infected with the coronavirus in Hong Kong. But what aides feared most was the possibility of a banner carrying a pro-democracy slogan being displayed near his hotel.

Were Xi to have stayed in Hong Kong and this fear to have been realized, it would have been a face-losing embarrassment for the lingxiu (leader). In Shenzhen, there was no such risk.

Ma Xingrui, 62, one of Xi's trusted aides, became Xinjiang's top official at the end of last year, after serving as secretary of Shenzhen and governor of Guangdong Province, where Shenzhen is located.

Ma was beside Xi throughout the leader's tour of the autonomous region.

Unlike his predecessor, Chen Quanquo, who ruled Xinjiang with an iron fist and was sanctioned by Western governments, Ma projects a different aura.

Thanks to his work experience in Shenzhen, Ma is versed in policies related to the information technology sector. His appointment to Xinjiang chief was likely based on the hope that he could revitalize the region's economy. There is a strong possibility he will become a Politburo member.

Two years have passed since the Hong Kong national security law took effect.

"The free world has shrunk for the first time since the end of the Cold War," said Lin Quanzhong, a scholar of international politics and former researcher at Academia Sinica, Taiwan's prestigious academic institution.

As for freedoms in Hong Kong, Lin said they have declined to 30% of what they were in 1997, at the time of the city's handover.

But Xi sees this "shrinkage of the free world" as the extension of the party's values and is showing it off as an achievement.

Xi's increasingly inward focus was reflected in the July 16 edition of the People's Daily, the party's mouthpiece. The front and second pages were full of stories about Xi's Xinjiang visit, including his meeting with Chinese troops stationed there.

Meanwhile, news on China's economy growing a slight 0.4% in the April-June quarter was pushed back to Page 4, despite making global headlines.

As good news is amplified and bad muted, there will be less external consideration when making decisions. Frictions with the free world are inevitable, as seen in China's reluctance to criticize Russia over Ukraine.

Nikkei Asia