China’s Communist Party has kicked off its twice-in-a-decade Congress, with President Xi Jinping calling for faster military growth, defending Beijing’s “zero-COVID” approach, and refusing to rule out the use of force to take Taiwan.
The week-long meeting, which began on Sunday, is the CCP’s most important political event and Xi is expected to receive a third five-year term, breaking with recent precedent and establishing him as arguably the most powerful Chinese politician since party founder Mao Zedong.
