Predecessor makes exit as Xi takes charge

appears in public, and so his greying-hair and visibly frail appearance at the opening of the congress became a point of discussion for Pekingologists.

As a member of the presidium of party elders, Hu sat through the entirety of the opening ceremony and was expected to do similar for the final day. Instead, shortly after foreign journalists entered the hall, two suited men helped him to his feet and guided him off stage, leaving empty a chair to the left of Xi.

Video of the unexplained incident from Agence France-presse news agency show a possibly hesitant or confused Hu first exchanging words with the men and Xi.

After standing, he hovered in place, took a few slow steps, then stopped and turned to say something to Xi, who briefly nodded but remained looking ahead at the assembled delegates.

Hu, who ruled China from 2002 to 2012, eventually left after placing a hand on the shoulder of outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, his prote´ge´ and one-time contender for the party’s top job.

Chinese state media has not explained – or even mentioned – the early departure. China considers the health and personal lives of top party leaders a state secret.

But the unusual scene, which took place mid-ceremony, has led observers to question what could have required the deviation from script. At the last congress in 2017, former leader Jiang Zemin remained in attendance until the end of the ceremony.

Hu being ushered out comes as Xi, 69, has set the stage to be formally be anointed as the unrivalled leader of China for at least another five years. Revisions to the party charter added new Xi-era slogans, which in essence say that Xi and his ideology are the ‘‘core’’ of the party and their authority must be protected.

Formally ranked No 2 leader for the last decade, Li, the outgoing premier, had been seen by some Chinese politics analysts as a check on Xi’s power.

Like Hu, he rose through the ranks of the Communist Youth League, which was an important network in Chinese politics before Xi’s anti-graft campaigns weakened its influence.

Despite being sidelined by Xi, Li retained his reputation as a competent technocrat, sympathetic to private businesses.

– Washington Post