hankyoreh

Xi Jinping arrives at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, along with the new members of the Politburo Standing Committee on Oct. 23. (Yonhap)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has secured a third consecutive term, with China’s incoming top leadership composed entirely of aides loyal to Xi. China has thus entered an era of Xi Jinping dominance that disallows any diversions from his hard-line policies.

There have been rising concerns that the competition for hegemony between the US and China will ramp up and tensions in East Asia over the issue of Taiwan will intensify. The pressure is on for Korea’s diplomacy to face up to changes in China that will have repercussions for all areas, including the economy and security, and to respond to them wisely.

A press conference on Sunday following the first plenary session of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party released the names of the next seven members of its Standing Committee. All seven members appear to be close aides to Xi, called “Xijiajun,” who had served locally with Xi in the past. Checks and balances between factions, adopted after China’s reform and opening-up to prevent the harms of a one-man dictatorship, thus seem to have disappeared.

Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang, a loyalist who was chief of staff to Xi’s party secretary for Zhejiang Province, was internally selected to be the next Chinese premier. Li had been criticized for the mass confusion his locking down of Shanghai from March to June prompted, but nonetheless, he rose to the No. 2 spot in China’s power hierarchy.

The appointment is a clear indication of Xi’s strong grip on power in the Communist Party. As China moves in perfect unison and order under Xi’s command, it is expected to become more difficult to correct poor policies.

During this year’s party congress, which wrapped up on Saturday, Xi declared that he would realize the great revival of the Chinese people against competition with the US through the “Chinese path to modernization.”

He also declared that China “will never promise to renounce the use of force” to achieve reunification with Taiwan and stipulated through an amendment to the constitution of the Chinese Communist Party the party’s stance of “resolutely opposing and deterring separatists seeking 'Taiwan independence.'" Tension between the US and China over the Taiwan issue has emerged as the biggest security threat in Northeast Asia.

Another challenge is that China is less likely to support South Korea’s position in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue as cooperation among North Korea, China and Russia strengthens.

Moreover, the party convention’s emphasis on economic development strategies and technological independence centered on domestic demand and state-owned enterprises may pose a critical threat to Korea’s economy.

Now is the time to devise a variety of realistic strategies for the economy and security that can reduce Korea’s economic dependence on China and maintain peace, while simultaneously finding the best possible interface between dialogue and cooperation with China. To this end, joint efforts by the Korean government, companies, and society have become more important than ever before.

Hu Jintao, the former leader of China who had been sitting beside Xi Jinping during the party congress, appears to speak to Xi while being escorted out of the hall. (EPA/Yonhap)

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]