在中國習近平將更多的權力授予他信任的二號人物 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Xi Is Delegating More Authority in China to His Trusted No. 2 (2/2)

Bloomberg News

Wed, November 29, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. GMT+8

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In March, Xi continued on that path, creating the so-called Central Financial Commission to oversee the country’s banking, insurance and securities assets. Another body, the Central Financial Work Commission, was set up to manage party building in the financial sector in a bid to ensure political loyalty.

Vivian Zhan, a professor of government and public administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Li’s appointment to lead one of those bodies was “a sign Xi is giving the premier more room for policy implementation, especially regarding economic issues that require technical expertise.” That doesn’t necessarily mean Li has decision-making power, she added.

Still, the body’s oversight by a Xi ally could streamline execution, if their close ties lead to clearer communication. With Xi now wearing so many hats, bottlenecks in the system could emerge, as Communist Party officials wait on word from the supreme leader before taking action.

Pressing issues at home this year could also heighten the need for Xi to delegate. China’s economy has struggled with a rocky pandemic exit, as a protracted property slump and a weak labor market weigh on growth. Xi also abruptly purged his foreign and defense ministers, after just months in their roles, suggesting serious personnel problems.

As those matters require his attention, Xi’s left China just three times in 2023, the fewest foreign excursions he’s made in a year outside the pandemic since taking power. That’s a marked change for a leader who traveled more on average than the US president, in the years before Covid closed borders.

The Chinese leader has also, at times, skipped giving speeches in person while overseas. In August, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao delivered a speech penned for Xi at an event in South Africa, where the other BRICS leaders spoke in person. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in California this month, Xi released a written speech to the CEO summit.

There’s no sign, however, that Xi’s sporadic deputizing means he’s willing to relinquish ultimate control. Even in economic affairs, the Chinese leader has ensured his trusted premier doesn’t have sole implementation rights.

The financial body he created to guide party building in the finance sector, the CFWC, is chaired by Vice Premier He Lifeng, another loyalist who worked with Xi in Fujian province.

Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the ANU Australian Centre on China in the World, said Xi likely put two different men in charge of these bodies to “ensure checks and balances between the leadership.”

“Given that politics is the single most important yardstick nowadays, it’s actually unclear who actually calls the shots,” he said, on which of the two commissions was more influential. “This ambiguity means Xi will always get to play mediator and have the final decision.”

--With assistance from Tom Hancock and Fran Wang.

Translation

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今年三月，習近平繼續沿著這條道路前進，成立了所謂的中央金融委員會來監管中國的銀行、保險和證券資產。 另一個機構是中央金融工作委員會，負責管理金融部門的黨的建設，以確保政治忠誠。

香港中文大學政府與公共管理學教授 Vivian Zhan 表示，李強被任命領導其中一個機構， “表明習近平正在給予總理更多的政策執行空間，特別是在需要技術專業知識的經濟問題上” 。 她補充說，這並不一定意味著李擁有決策權。

儘管如此，如果習近平盟友的密切關係能夠帶來更清晰的溝通，該機構的監督可以簡化執行。 由於習近平現在身兼數職，體制中的瓶頸可能會出現，因為共產黨官員必須等待最高領導人的指示才能採取行動。

今年國內的迫切問題也可能增加習近平放權的必要性。中國經濟在克服疫情過程中舉步維艱, 房地產市場持續低迷和勞動市場疲軟拖累經濟成長。 習近平也突然清洗了上任僅幾個月的外交部長和國防部長，顯示有嚴重的人事問題。

由於這些問題需要他的關注，習近平在 2023 年只離開中國 3 次，這是他上台以來除疫情之外的一年中出國次數最少的一次。 對於一位在新冠病毒關閉邊境前幾年平均出行次數超過美國總統的領導人來說，這是一個顯著的變化。

中國領導人有時在海外也不會親自作出發表演講。 8月，商務部長王文濤在南非舉行的活動上發表了為習近平撰寫的講話，其他金磚國家領導人則親自發言。 本月在加州舉行的亞太經濟合作論壇上，習近平在執行長高峰會上發表了書面演講。

然而，沒有跡象表明習近平的零星代理意味著他願意放棄最終控制權。 即使在經濟事務上，中國習領導也確保他信任的總理不擁有单獨執行權。

習為指導金融領域的黨建而創立的金融機構 -中央金融工作委員會 (Central Financial Work Commission) CFWC，由副總理何立峰擔任主席，他是習近平在福建省的另一位忠實擁護者。

澳洲國立大學澳洲中华全球研究中心的政治學家 Wen-Ti Sung 表示，習近平可能會讓兩個不同的人負責這些機構，以「確保領導層之間的制衡」。

關於這兩個委員會中哪一個更有影響力他說: 「鑑於政治是當今最重要的衡量標準，實際上並不清楚誰真正發號施令」; 「這種模糊性意味著習近平將始終扮演調解人的角色並擁有最終決定權」。

       So, Chinese Premier Li Qiang is overseeing the Central Financial Commission created in March and this has surprised analysts who expected Xi to take the job. According to some experts, there is no sign, however, that Xi’s sporadic deputizing means he is willing to relinquish ultimate control.