 "Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photo: Reuters.")
When Xi Jinping strode out in the Great Hall of the People five years ago as China’s new leader, his tight smile barely hid the atmosphere of smoldering crisis.
The Communist Party elite had been battered by infighting and scandals involving power grabs, bribery and even murder. Military commanders and state security chieftains — the guardians of one-party rule — had grown grossly corrupt. Critics openly accused Mr. Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, of dithering as popular ire spread.
On Wednesday, Mr. Xi opened another Communist Party congress, this time as the nation’s most powerful leader in decades, all but certain to receive
