Tightens grip on dragon: Xi cements status with historic resolution

President Xi Jinping delivered the first doctrine on Communist Party history by a Chinese leader in 40 years, giving him a mandate to potentially rule for life as a major meeting wraps up in Beijing.

The approval of the landmark document was announced in a communique Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency said, as the four-day plenum at a military hotel in Beijing closed. Only Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping have authored a so-called historical resolution, and both went on to dominate party politics until they died. The full text of the resolution hasn’t been released yet.

The Central Committee called on the country to “unite around the party with Xi at the core,” implement his doctrine to strive for party goals set through 2049 and realise “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” the communique said, according to Xinhua. 

Getting the group of 400 mostly male party elites, including state leaders, military chiefs, provincial bosses and top academics, to endorse his vision sends a strong signal Xi has the power base to clinch a precedent-defying third term.

Still, the communique also gave nods to the contributions of former leaders including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

Beijing sealed after Covid outbreak

Beijing authorities have sealed off a mall and locked down several residential compounds over a Covid-19 flare-up, as the latest outbreak spread to the Chinese capital's central districts. China has largely curbed widespread transmission of the coronavirus through snap lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions, but authorities are on high alert after a nationwide spike linked to domestic travel in the past month.

Six new cases were found in Beijing's central districts of Chaoyang and Haidian Thursday morning, local media reported, all close contacts of people infected recently in northeastern Jilin province. Raffles City mall in Dongcheng -- also a central district -- was sealed off Wednesday evening after a close contact of a person with Covid-19 was found to have visited the mall, the Beijing Youth Daily  reported.

Xi warns against ''Cold War'' in Asia-Pacific

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Thursday against letting tensions in the Asia-Pacific region cause a relapse into a Cold War mentality.

His remarks on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum came weeks after the US, Britain and Australia announced a new security alliance in the region which would see Australia build nuclear submarines. China has harshly criticized the deal.