“The party center and the whole party must have a core,” it said in an editorial at the end of the Central Committee meeting.
China’s Communist Party Declares Xi Jinping ‘Core’ Leader -
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping of China received a potent boost to his status on Thursday, when a Communist Party
meeting elevated him to “core” leader, putting him in the same revered ranks as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
Since he became general secretary of the party in 2012, the leadership “with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core has acted on its words
and led by example,” said a communiqué from the four-day assembly of the Central Committee.
Giving Mr. Xi core status was “in the fundamental interests of the party and the country, and will act as fundamental assurance
that the leadership of the party is maintained and strengthened.”
The term “core” leader dates back to the turbulence of 1989, when Deng used it to anchor
the shaky authority of Jiang Zemin, who had been abruptly appointed general secretary.
“For a country and for a party, a leading core is vitally important,” said the document, which was solemnly read on Chinese state television news.
“This concept of a core will certainly help in advancing supervision inside the party and fighting corruption,” Professor Nie said.
“It seems that this plenum really was a victory for Xi,” Joseph Fewsmith, a professor
at Boston University who studies Chinese leadership politics, said by email.
