Some foreign media outlets are raising theories about a power crisis for Chinese President Xi Jinping. They have recently noted that the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, is reporting content that directly contradicts President Xi's policy direction. The People's Daily is a propaganda outlet where the Central Propaganda Department decides the content and tone of articles.
The U.S. media Epoch Times, which has an anti-China stance, reported on the 13th (local time) in an article titled "Xi Jinping absent from the front page of the party's official newspaper," stating, "The People's Daily, in its front page on the 10th, published an article saying, 'The more the country opens up, the more we can develop,' without mentioning President Xi, showing unusual editing decisions." It added, "This is in stark contrast to the emphasis on increased restrictive control and self-reliance that Xi Jinping has highlighted."
According to Epoch Times, the People's Daily dedicated significant space on its front page on the 10th to an interview with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. When asked, 'What do you think about openness and development?' Ren responded, "As the country opens up more, that openness allows us to develop further." Although he has been a top advocate of the Communist Party's economic policies, there was not a single mention of President Xi in this interview.
Earlier, Japan's Sankei Newspaper's English version, Japan Forward, also reported, "The People's Daily took the unprecedented step of not featuring Xi Jinping and other top leaders from the 2nd to the 4th," adding, "Instead, it focused on routine topics such as carbon reduction and regional development." Japan Forward also mentioned that the Chinese People's Liberation Army's official newspaper, Liberation Army Daily, indirectly criticized President Xi's abuse of power in an article titled, 'Public authority should serve the people,' published on the 30th of last month.
Japan Forward pointed out that President Xi had not appeared in public from the 21st of last month until the 3rd of this month for about two weeks, noting, "This absence is unprecedented." It further analyzed, "This situation is different from past cases where Xi hid during power consolidation before assuming the party's general secretary in 2012, or in 2023 when he briefly disappeared due to brain surgery." It also added that Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, did not accompany him on his recent overseas trips and that the size of the entourage has been reduced.
The newspaper evaluated, "This absence reflects the historical patterns of power transfer within China." Japan Forward reported that when a Chinese Communist Party leader loses power, there is a practice of not immediately making it public and delaying the announcement. It noted the case of former Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang's resignation, which was announced in October of that year, nine months after the actual resignation date of January 1987, stating, "Such precedents suggest that even if Xi's power has weakened, he could still remain nominally in power."
Earlier this month, Japan's English-language Nikkei Asia also reported that questions are being raised about Xi's power stability. Nikkei Asia noted that state-run Chinese media outlets like Xinhua News Agency reported on the monthly meeting of the Communist Party's Politburo held on April 25, but have remained silent about the May meeting. The Chinese Communist Party's Politburo consists of 24 senior officials and holds regular monthly meetings according to party regulations.
Nikkei Asia pointed out, "Xi, who also holds the position of General Secretary of the Party, has had considerable power concentrated in his hands," adding, "Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party should be entirely stable and should not have a reason to skip a Politburo meeting." Japan Forward also reported, "The Politburo usually holds meetings every month, but there was no meeting at the end of May," stating that despite rumors of a meeting to remove President Xi, no actual meeting was held.
In addition, the sudden death of Xu Qiliang, a former deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission and a '30-year friend' of Xi Jinping, on the 2nd, and the dismissal of Zheng Yansheng, the head of the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong, are also contributing to the speculation about a power crisis surrounding Xi. In May, reports surfaced that He Weidong, the third-ranking officer in the Chinese military, had not participated in official events for about two months, and he has still not appeared. He Weidong was directly appointed by Xi at the 2022 Party Congress and is known to be Xi's closest ally within the military.