The upshot: Xi joins the Communist Party’s greats and China’s anti-graft tsar heads for the exit

Xi Jinping is put on a par with Mao and Deng, and the new Central Committee signals two big departures at the top

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Delegates attend the closing session of the Communist Party’s national congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:54pm, 24 Oct 2017Updated: 8:02pm, 24 Oct 2017

Two of the highlights of the closing session of the Communist Party’s national congress on Tuesday were the elevation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to a status on a par with late paramount leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, and the departure of anti-graft tsar Wang Qishan and Vice-President Li Yuanchao from the top leadership.

Xi’s political philosophy is officially enshrined in the party’s constitution

At the closing session in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People, Xi declared that his governing philosophy, officially called “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, had been added to the party’s constitution.

The widely expected move will further tighten the “core” leader’s grip on power and put Xi on a par with Mao and Deng.

Xi’s political philosophy, now officially part of the party’s “Guide to Action”, runs the gamut from macroeconomics to foreign policy and ideological control.

It is fleshed out in dense official language in 14 sections but the main points are:

The inclusion of President Xi Jinping’s philosophy in the party’s constitution puts him on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Photo: AP