Where is China's Xi Jinping? Chinese President to skip BRICS Summit for first time in 12 years, reason could be...

Twelve years after becoming China’s most powerful leader, President Xi Jinping may be preparing to share more responsibilities with his deputies. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, recent changes in the Communist Party of China (CPC) hint at a shift in how decisions are made at the top. On June 30, the 24-member Politburo—the party’s highest decision-making body—approved new rules for “party coordinative institutes.” These are key organisations that manage cross-agency work in important areas like national security, the economy, and technology. The state news agency Xinhua said the new rules aim to make the policy-making process more standardised and organised. The rules ask these institutes to focus on “planning, discussing, and checking on major matters.”

According to reports, this may signal that Xi is starting to hand over more day-to-day responsibilities to his team. 

Since Xi took power in 2012, he has expanded and strengthened the role of party-led coordination groups. Many of these were once “leading small groups” but have since become powerful “central commissions.” These commissions now play key roles in overseeing government work and aligning policies with party goals.

For example, the party’s Hong Kong and Macau group was upgraded in 2020 and took over the powers of the State Council’s office in 2023. Similar changes have been made in financial regulation, religion, and overseas Chinese affairs, according to Firstpost.

In 2023, new commissions led by Xi’s close allies were launched. Premier Li Qiang now heads the Central Financial Commission, and Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang leads the Central Science and Technology Commission. Xi’s chief of staff, Cai Qi, now oversees cyberspace policy—once a role held by Xi himself.

These moves may reflect the beginning of a quiet transition, as Xi builds a team to carry forward his vision, possibly beyond his term.