Early Warning Brief: Xi Jinping Issues Tough Warnings to Enemies Within the Party

While President Xi Jinping’s position as the most powerful politician in China seems beyond doubt, he has been busy quashing apparently growing dissent within the mid- to upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Widely recognized as the CCP’s “leadership core for life,” Xi, who is also CCP General Secretary and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has issued a series of unusually tough warnings against real and potential foes. This is despite the fact that although the party is riven with rival factions that may either disagree with Xi’s policies or his overweening personal ambitions (Liberty Times, February 19; Rfi.fr, June 30), there does not seem to be a unified movement against his iron rule.

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