The 19th Party Congress and the First Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee that immediately followed the congress endorsed sweeping changes in China’s leadership, including the makeup of the Politburo and its standing committee. The theme of the congress was “never forget the original mission,” a theme emphasized when the new Politburo Standing Committee traveled to Shanghai to the site of the 1921 First Party Congress and repeated oaths of loyalty to the party. The congress made clear that the party is in charge of China and Xi Jinping is in charge of the party. Xi Jinping’s name and “thought” were written into the party’s constitution, and Xi Jinping made clear that his “new age” was to be demarcated from Deng Xiaoping’s “new period.” A new, more centralized leadership emerged from the congress, presiding over what it clearly intends to be a more disciplined party.
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The 19th Party Congress: Ringing in Xi Jinping’s New Age
