Nikolai Bobkin, political scientist Academician G.A. Arbatov US and Canada Institute

The annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), known as the “two sessions”, which set the tone and direction of China’s policy, were held in Beijing from March 4 to 13.

China’s top leadership has been noticeably upgraded. Xi Jinping has received an unprecedented third term as president of the country. He was also elected for a third term as Chairman of the Central Military Council of China. The legislators elected Zhao Leji as Chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, and Han Zheng as Vice President of China. Li Qiang has been confirmed as the new Prime Minister of China.

Most questions about the third presidential term of Xi Jinping. For decades, China, which has known indefinite rule and founding leader Mao Zedong’s cult of personality, has adopted a more consensus-based model that limits the president’s term to two five-year terms. Xi Jinping’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao stepped down from power after 10 years in office. Xi Jinping tore up this rule book and became president of the PRC for the third time. His appointment came after he received another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October.

Xi Jinping closed the parliament session on March 13 with a speech to the assembled delegates outlining his vision for China’s future. He thanked thousands of delegates at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for giving him a third term, promising to “take the needs of the country as his mission and the interests of the people as his yardstick.” In a speech against the backdrop of growing tensions in relations with the West, the Chinese President focused on national security. “We must fully promote the modernization of the national defense and armed forces, and turn the people’s armed forces into a Great Steel Wall that effectively protects national sovereignty, security and development interests,” the President stressed.

Western media quickly began to spread rumors that China was challenging the US. This hype shows that the West does not seem to want to solve the problems, but only adds fuel to the fire and leads to additional and unnecessary problems that could have been avoided. The foreign media frenzy comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Washington are at a dangerously low level not seen in decades, as the powers bicker over everything from human rights to trade and technology.

In his speech, Xi Jinping, with rare frankness, criticized Washington’s actions to “contain, encircle and suppress China”. His remarks reflect Beijing’s conviction that the US is motivated not only by fundamental security concerns, but also by fears of losing economic hegemony. That China is closing its economic, industrial and technological gap with the United States unnerves Washington, but the real problems for the West are undoubtedly how China plans to use its power.

China accounts for over 18% of the global economy and contributes an average of 30% to global economic growth. Over the past decade, China’s GDP has grown to $17.37 trillion however, the world’s second-largest economy is facing a host of economic challenges as it emerges from economic stagnation after three years of a strict zero-tolerance policy for the coronavirus. China’s GDP grew just 3% last year, one of the lowest in decades, and today Beijing has set a modest growth target for this year of just around 5%.

Development remains China’s “top priority,” but its “first priority” is now “quality development.” This includes promoting Xi Jinping’s “new development model,” a strategy that combines development and security goals by boosting domestic demand and domestic technology. The President is preparing China for a long-term strategic rivalry with the United States. He defined the overarching goal for China as “building a socialist modern great power” by the centenary of the People’s Republic in 2049 and “using Chinese-style modernization to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”.

This concept will define Beijing’s relationship with the world. Xi Jinping is not looking for a short-term crisis, given the scale and urgency of the economic problems at home, but he is not going to abandon the diplomacy of confronting the unipolar world order at the head of the United States. The recent agreement signed in Beijing between Iran and Saudi Arabia can be considered a successful sign of the transition from the current global order. Beijing has demonstrated that in the new conditions the United States, unlike in the past, will not have hegemony and will lose leverage. From any point of view, the reconciliation between Riyadh and Tehran with Chinese mediation is an important diplomatic success for China, and can be an example, including for solving the problem of Taiwan.

Beijing’s policy in resolving the Taiwan issue remains the same, the Chinese leadership is offering the island of Taiwan the opportunity to meet the mainland along the path of peaceful reunification. However, this signal should not be interpreted as a refusal of the mainland to other options, experts say. Therefore, as Washington intensifies its efforts to support the island, the Americans risk further undermining relations with China. The US needs to work to reduce tensions with China, which of course means refraining from provocative actions over Taiwan. Not only these issues are on the agenda.

The latest source of tension has been US accusations that the Chinese government is considering providing military assistance to Russia in the war in Ukraine, which Beijing denies. So far, China’s support for Russia has been political and economic, with Beijing marking the first anniversary of the start of the war by offering a peace deal. The West sees in this China’s desire to elevate itself in the geopolitical hierarchy, forgetting that the desire to maintain hegemony in the world is steadily bringing Moscow and Beijing closer. The Russian-Chinese alliance is the reality of current world politics.

On March 20-22, the state visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Moscow will take place. This will be the Chinese leader’s first trip abroad since his third term. The world community is looking forward to this extremely important event with great interest and does not skimp on forecasts. The results of the talks between the two leaders will undoubtedly have geopolitical significance. It is also quite obvious that the most important questions will be discussed behind closed doors, but the answers to them will become clear to everyone in the near future.