Politics

How Were China's Top Leaders Selected?

One day after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) revealed its new generation of top leaders — the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC)— China’s state news agency Xinhua published a report elaborating on how the top leaders were selected from the “black box” of CCP elite politics. While it contained lengthy propaganda and numerous ambiguous descriptions, the article still implied the fundamental selection criteria for China’s top leadership: loyalty to the party and to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to Xinhua, Xi presided over a PSC meeting on April 24 and approved a plan on the selection mechanism for the 19th PSC members. The plan said the 19th PSC members would be selected through “recommendation and direct talk” with some restrictions on age and experience.

Xinhua disclosed that, from April to June, Xi personally had face-to-face meetings with 57 current and former party, state, and military leaders and consulted their opinions accordingly.