With barely a month left for its 20th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has selected 2,296 delegates for the key meet, which will likely see President Xi Jinping getting endorsed for a third term.
The delegates for the once-in-five-year national congress were "elected in accordance with the party Constitution" and "under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," said Chinese state media Xinhua.
"Among the delegates are party members both in leadership positions and working on the frontline, a considerable number of female party members and those from ethnic minority groups, as well as those from various sectors including the economy," the report added.
Interestingly, the CCP has selected 30 delegates from the Western Theatre Command (WTC), the jurisdiction of which includes China’s borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Myanmar. One of the delegate from WTC is reportedly the PLA commander who was injured in the skirmishes with Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley in the June 2020 incident.
According to Jayadeva Ranade, president of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, the attention paid by Xi to the PLA Western Theatre Command is "relevant to India."
"The WTC was operationally responsible for the intrusions in the Ladakh region in April 2020 that activated the entire 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC). In this backdrop of continuing tension and deployment of 60,000-70,000 troops each by India and China in the high-altitude eastern Ladakh, what is interesting is that the number of delegates representing the PLA WTC at the 20th Party Congress is nearly double that of the other four theatre commands," Ranade wrote.
Besides the election of delegates, he thinks there are other factors which hint at Xi's attention towards the WTC. Besides Xi's meetings with WTC officers, the command was also provided advanced military hardware and aircraft, ahead of other commands. The CCP is also planning a major upgrade for the WTC, including new provisions like a new railway, highway and airfields in Tibet Autonomous Region and its surrounding areas.
The election of delegates and preparation of the party congress happens amid speculations about a military coup against Xi Jinping. However, China's People’s Daily newspaper's on Monday dismisses all rumours and reaffirmed Xi's sway over the party by addressing him as the "core."
"The CPC National Congress will take stock of the Party's work over the past five years, as well as major achievements and valuable experience of the Party's Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in uniting and leading the whole Party and Chinese people of all ethnic groups," the editorial read.
The congress will lay out sound plans on the targets, tasks and major policies for the cause of the party and the country in the next five years and beyond, the editorial added.
