China congress, due to extend Xi’s power, slated for Oct. 16

Beijing, Aug 30 (EFE).- China’s Communist Party is set to hold its 20th congress from October 16 in Beijing, where president Xi Jinping is expected to be re-elected for a third term, official media reported Tuesday.

The Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo also announced it would celebrate its central committee congress seven days prior, on October 9.

Xi is widely tipped to cement his power at the October 16 congress as some analysts have already begun to share his political stature with that of Mao Zedong.

State news agency Xinhua said the congress would “hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

It added that the congress, which it said had been described as of “great significance,” would also ”uphold Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”

China’s Communist Party has been in power since 1949 and in 2021 celebrated the centenary year of its founding. EFE

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