China’s regime faces difficult questions post-COVID as Xi Jinping tightens grip with unprecedented third term

Published

2 years ago

March 5, 2023

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Beijing’s Great Hall of the People is magnificent.

Based, as it is, in such a politically sensitive location looking out over Tiananmen Square, it’s normally impossible to film here – even taking your phone out can elicit close attention from the police.

But not this weekend.

Those accredited to pass beyond the closed roads were allowed to see and film and take selfies to their heart’s content.

And that’s exactly what the 3,000 or so delegates from across the country did.

There was a celebratory atmosphere, a sense they were excited to be here.

Most were men in suits, but there were a handful in the traditional dress of ethnic minorities – an important display of diversity given China’s history of repressing these groups.

They had gathered for China’s equivalent of the opening of Parliament, an annual event in the political calendar but with extra significance this year.

This “Two Sessions” or “Liang Hui” in Chinese, sees Xi Jinping confirmed as the country’s president for a precedent-busting third term.

He could, in theory, now remain leader for life.

The whole event was as controlled as it was closely guarded.

To access it we had to quarantine for 24 hours in a “closed loop” hotel and have a COVID test.

Ascending the grand steps to enter the building, facial recognition technology pulled up each of our pictures in turn.

Hundreds of masked security men watched us closely.

All about Xi

In theory, the delegates here vote on legislation, key positions and changes to the constitution.

This year that included a minor increase to the defence budget, but it has all been previously decided in a series of closed-door meetings.

In the Great Hall itself, the delegates clapped in perfect unison as the president and his top team entered.

Mr Xi didn’t take the lectern himself, but the weekend was, in a way, all about him.

His top team reshuffle, a cabinet now stuffed with his allies, was confirmed – his agenda for China firmly at the fore.

But this government does have questions to answer, not least how to rebuild an economy battered by the excesses of a harsh and prolonged zero-COVID policy.

Indeed, the economic forecasts announced were timid compared to usual predictions, with growth having drastically slowed.

Public opinion on this does matter and is damaged.

Many Chinese people suffered enormously under severe lockdowns only for the policy to be dropped dramatically overnight.

But there weren’t many answers here.

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A press conference was filled mainly with state media and a large number of journalism trainees.

The questions, it seemed, had been preselected, and the answers meticulously prepared.

There is a sense that this is the start of a new chapter of sorts for China, a post-COVID era – a time of heightened tensions with the West, under a man who could now be leader for life.

Mr Xi’s China is richer and stronger than it was, but beneath the carefully controlled aesthetic, it still faces complicated questions.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

4 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

10 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.