Xi made head of new commission for military, civilian development

Beijing, Jan 22: Chinese President Xi Jinping today became the head of a new commission for integrated military and civilian development, as he assumed more powers and firmed up his hold over the ruling Communist Party, the PLA and the government. The decision was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which was chaired by Xi, official media reported. The central commission will be the central agency tasked with decision-making, deliberation and coordination of major issues regarding integrated military and civilian development. In a statement released after today’s meeting, the political bureau called for efforts to uphold the authority of the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core, adhere to its centralised and unified leadership and fully implement major policies. Xi who was designated as the “core leader”, equating him with party founder Mao Zedong, at a key party meet in October last year, is also the General Secretary of the CPC, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the high command of the 2.3 million strong Chinese military, besides being the President. The ‘Core leader’ will put him above the rest in the party leadership which followed collective leadership system. The power status would enable him to have his supporters in the key bodies of the party when, once in five years, its Congress is held to elect the powerful Political Bureau and the seven-member Standing Committee. Since he took over power towards the end of 2012, Xi has carried out a massive anti-corruption drive in which over a million officials at various levels were punished. Over 40 high level officials of the military also faced corruption probes. The newly formed commission will report to the Political Bureau and the Standing Committee.