‘Dare to struggle, dare to win’: China’s Xi Jinping as Communist party meet ends

China’s 20th communist party meet came to an end in Beijing on Saturday, after president Xi Jinping presided over seven days of closed-door meetings with top officials.

“Dare to struggle, dare to win, bury your heads and work hard, be determined to keep forging ahead,” Xi told delegates.

China’s Communist Party on Saturday approved amendments to its constitution aimed at cementing the core status of Xi Jinping and the guiding role of his political thought within the party as it wrapped up its twice-a-decade congress.

The party was also set on Saturday to elect its Central Committee, which on Sunday will choose the elite Politburo Standing Committee, with Xi, 69, widely expected to secure a third leadership term.

A third five-year leadership term would solidify Xi’s place as China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong, founding leader of the People’s Republic.

Among the ammendments to the party constitution, the “Two Establishes” define Xi as the “core” leader of the party and cement his ideas as the guiding principles of China’s future development. The “Two Safeguards” assure Xi’s “core” status within the party and the party’s centralised authority over China.

Voting was conducted by show of hands in the vast Great Hall of the People, where much of the week’s party congress proceedings have taken place behind closed doors.