China Communist Party to change constitution to reflect Xi's 'concepts, thoughts, strategy'

China's Communist Party (CPC) will amend the party constitution at its key congress that opens tomorrow to reflect leader Xi Jinping's "new concepts, thinking and strategy for governance," a top official said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, around 2,300 delegates of the party will meet in Beijing for the twice-a-decade congress, which will conclude on October 24. The congress will choose a new leadership for Xi's second five-year term, including the next Politburo Standing Committee, the seven-member body that effectively rules China. The PBSC will be unveiled on October 25.

The congress is expected to further strengthen Xi's strong grip over the party. In the past five years, he has rapidly accumulated power, and has been widely seen as the strongest leader since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

To signal Xi's dominance, the congress is expected to amend its constitution to include Xi's "ideological contribution", as has been done for each of the past four generation of leaders.

Tuo Zhen, spokesperson for the 19th Party Congress and a senior Propaganda Department official, told reporters on Tuesday that amendments will "signify the new concepts, new thinking, and new strategy for governance of China that the Communist Party Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the Core has developed."

The CPC constitution only mentions Mao and Deng by name, and an inclusion of Xi's name would signal he has surpassed his predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Their respective "ideological contributions" were enshrined into the constitution only after they stepped down, and without mentioning their names.

On the other hand, a failure to include Xi's name at the upcoming congress would suggest he has faced stronger than expected resistance to his accumulation of power, observers say.

The amendments are likely to be announced after the congress concludes on October 24.

Tuo appeared to lay out the rationale for amending the party's ideological guidelines, suggesting Xi may have his way. "It is an established practice for the party to amend the party constitution at national congresses in response to innovations in theory and developments in practice," he said.

"Experience has shown making appropriate amendments in line with new developments and tasks can help every member of the party better understand, abide by and apply the party constitution, and better understand and regulate the party's work and party building".

Xi will open the congress on Wednesday by delivering a work report that outlines the political, economic and strategic vision for the next five years. "An overarching strategic and far-sighted programme of action is needed," Tuo said, "as such a programme has a direct bearing on the continuation and development of the course of the party and country, and on the future of Chinese socialism."