'For the first time in a hundred years, the army has been taken out of the political equation. And for the first time ever, there is only one man who calls the shots. Not even Mao had this kind of power.'
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
China's second-ranked general, He Weidong, is under investigation for corruption, along with nine other senior military officers punished for discipline violations and work-related crimes. This crackdown comes ahead of a key Communist Party conclave.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
M A Baby faces several significant challenges: Helping the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front secure a third consecutive term in Kerala's 2026 assembly elections, and regaining ground lost in the party's traditional strongholds of West Bengal, Tripura, and other regions.
Throughout 2022, China turned to the PLA as an increasingly capable instrument of Statecraft, strengthening its ability to 'fight and win wars' against a 'strong enemy', points out Ajai Shukla.
Xi Jinping at a ceremony to mark Martyrs' Day at Tiananmen Square, September 30, 2022.
China's deteriorating economy is a serious concern. Xi Jinping and China's new premier will have a difficult task ahead of them after the 20th party congress, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
The week-long 20th national congress of the Communist party of China began in Beijing on Sunday, October 16, 2022.
It is the first time that Modi and Xi came face-to-face since the Chinese People's Liberation Army occupied Indian territory in Ladakh in April 2020.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist party, at the the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, March 10, 2022.
In scenes replicating purges at party conferences in Pyongyang, Xi Jinping appeared to borrow from Kim Jong Un's playbook when he had Hu Jintao, his predecessor as Communist party general secretary and president of the People's Republic of China, evicted from the final session of the 20th party congress on Saturday, October 22, 2022 in full view.
After the outbreak of the pandemic in the country he has ruled with an iron hand in recent years, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China, has mostly stayed put in Beijing.
'Which will not happen.' 'Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has expressly refuted Beijing's statement that normalcy was returning to Sino-Indian relations.'
Rather, cold reactions are expected considering the contentious issues the US is bound to raise -- Taiwan, human rights, and North Korea.
When Jiang Zemin traveled, as you can see in the photographs here, a Kodak Moment was never far away.
Amid China's economic slowdown, the country's economic challenges may increase manifold and its economy may be hit harder in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Wang Junzheng, Tibet's new Communist party boss, is on a number of sanctions lists by the US, Britain, the EU and Canada, for his tough role in Xinjiang, aimed at China's Uyghur ethnic minority, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Xi does not want to risk any political or economic crisis complicating his bid to remain in office, observes Ambassador Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
A visit to Tibet appears to have become the new touchstone for expressing fealty to Xi Jinping, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
An exclusive white paper by the Jamestown Foundation claims that the powerful figures arraigned against the President include former Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and current Vice-President Wang Qishan, The Hong Kong Post reported.
National security, consolidation of border defences and border security highlights China's Tibet policy, points out Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
The Chinese Communist Party's all important 19th Party Congress is just months away, and President Xi Jinping finds himself confronting unlikely challenges to his pre-eminent position, says former RA&W officer and China watcher Jayadeva Ranade.
Why is China's supreme leader promoting Han Chauvinism so aggressively, asks Claude Arpi.
There is simmering disquiet in the Communist party and the world is watching as to what can unfold in China in the days to come ahead of next year's party congress, notes Rup Narayan Das.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
'The world is finally recognising that China is pushing a form of government that many only now are beginning to recognise as problematic'
To rise quickly in the PLA's hierarchy, you need to be close to Xi Jinping. Retired RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade on the changes in China's military leadership.
'India and China are at new inflection points, domestically and internationally. India needs to throw up a new leader whose vision is clear, experience laden with wisdom and articulation brimming with restraint and tolerance,' says Ambassador K C Singh.
'Xi's emphasis on enhancing conventional military deterrence capabilities, joint operations and power projection are likely to increase friction points with India as with other nations,' points out China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
China's new leader Xi Jinping formally took over as the country's military chief, presiding over the first meeting of the powerful 11-member Military Commission, the highest body of the country's defence command structure.
The Chinese Communist party has not closed its door of contacts and negotiation with the Dalai Lama, a senior Communist leader wrote recently. Former RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade explains what the thinking on Tibet is likely in Beijing.
China, governed by one-party system since 1949, will carry out political reforms to allow more involvement of people in decision-making process but will not ape western-style democracy, President Hu Jintao said on Thursday.
The outgoing leadership of the ruling Communist Party held its last meeting in Beijing on Thursday ahead of the November 8 Congress that will select a new set of leaders, amid allegations of amassing wealth by some leaders and a scandal related to disgraced party leader, Bo Xilai.
There is growing alarm at the inexorable rise of China, both of its military prowess and its aggressive bullying of other countries plus its subjugation of whole portions of its own population.
While Prakash Karat was re-elected as the general secretary of the CPI-M, veteran leaders Jyoti Basu and Harkishen Singh Surjeet will no longer be part of the party's politburo, but will stay on as senior figureheads. West Bengal ministers Nirupam Sen and Mohammed Amin, and Kerala home and tourism minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan are the new members in the politburo.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Tuesday said it would not enter into any alliance or united front with the Congress while continuing to adopt tactics to isolate and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party. 'The party differentiates between the BJP and the Congress, considering the latter as a secular bourgeois party, though it vacillates when the communal forces take the offensive,' the party said in its political resolution adopted in the party Congress.
In the event of Left parties deciding to withdraw support forcing a mid-term poll for the Lok Sabha both the sides have a lot to lose, as the shadow-boxing between them will have an impact on the poll outcome, political observers point out. Knowing well that CPI-M is ideologically opposed to the nuclear deal and that it would not have a direct bearing on the electorate, the Congress party is confident of facing people, but not before bringing down the spiralling prices.
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