China's ruling Communist Party will begin its 20th Party Congress on October 16, state media reported Tuesday, a landmark meeting at which President Xi Jinping is expected to be anointed as the country's most powerful leader in decades.

The meeting in the capital Beijing is widely expected to see Xi reinstated as president for an unprecedented third term.

It will also see the unveiling of a new top leadership line-up, as Xi consolidates his grip on the party and his position as the most powerful Chinese leader since the country's founder Mao Zedong.

The congress -- held every five years -- will be an "extremely important conference", according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on a Monday meeting of the country's 25-member Politburo.

Preparatory work for the conference is "progressing smoothly", the report added.

The event will see about 2,300 Communist Party delegates from across the country descend on Beijing in a highly choreographed exercise to pick members of the party's Central Committee of around 200 members.

The final meeting of the current Central Committee will take place in Beijing from October 9, the report said.

The Central Committee will then vote for the 25-person Politburo and its all-powerful Standing Committee -- China's highest leadership body and apex of power, currently comprised of seven people.

Voting is mostly a formality -- the pecking order of the Politburo and its Standing Committee is likely to have been decided well in advance.

- Unchecked power -

The congress comes as Xi faces significant political headwinds, including an ailing economy, deteriorating relations with the United States and a strict zero-Covid policy that has accelerated China's inward turn from the world.

He has also faced harsh human rights criticism from the international community over repressive policies in the northwestern Xinjiang region, which have seen an estimated one million Muslim Uyghurs detained in a sweeping crackdown ostensibly targeting "terrorism".

His decade-long tenure has also seen crackdowns on corruption within the party, which analysts say served to take down his political rivals, as well as the crushing of a democracy movement in Hong Kong and strict lockdowns on cities in the name of curbing the coronavirus.

Xi also ushered in an assertive "Wolf Warrior" foreign policy that has alienated Western democracies and some of China's regional neighbours, and pushed for closer ties with Russia while cultivating domestic nationalism to rampant levels.

He abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018 -- originally set up by former leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s to prevent another Mao-like dictatorship -- leaving the possibility of him becoming leader for life.

Over the past year, Chinese propaganda has worked in overdrive to bolster Xi's legacy, diminish the achievements of his predecessors and further enshrine him in the highest echelons of the Communist Party.

Analysts predict that at this year's congress, Xi will be looking to shorten the name of his official political philosophy in the party constitution to the pithier "Xi Jinping Thought", putting him on par with Mao.

Five things to know about China's Communist Party Congress
Beijing (AFP) Aug 30, 2022 - China's Communist Party will on October 16 open its 20th Party Congress, its most important political meeting that is held once every five years.

Here are five questions and answers about the opaque process, which will see major leadership changes expected to bolster President Xi Jinping's authority and grant him a landmark third term.

What's the meeting for?

The Communist Party has held 19 congresses to fill its leadership ranks since it was founded in 1921. The party, which has ruled China since 1949, organises the meetings every five years.

This year, about 2,300 delegates from across the country will descend on Beijing in a highly choreographed event to pick members of the party's Central Committee made up of around 200 members.

This will "provide important clues about which leaders may be in line for top posts, and the amount of turnover within the Central Committee -- generally around 60 percent -- may signal how aggressively Xi intends to reshuffle", wrote Christopher K. Johnson, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

The committee will select members for the 25-person Politburo and its all-powerful Standing Committee -- the country's highest leadership body and apex of power, currently comprising just seven people.

The Standing Committee is usually unveiled the day after the end of the congress.

Xi is all but certain to begin an unprecedented third five-year term as party general secretary.

In 2018, he abolished the presidential two-term limit, which was set by former leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s to avoid another Mao-style dictatorship.

Who's on the Standing Committee?

The current Standing Committee consists of Xi, Premier Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng.

These seven men, career bureaucrats who rose through the party ranks over decades, call the shots in the world's most populous country, each getting one vote on key policy decisions.

But general secretary Xi reigns supreme, setting the agenda for their frequent secret meetings.

A sweeping anti-corruption campaign since Xi came to power has brought down former ministers and Politburo members, weakening party factions and eliminating rival contenders -- leaving Xi with no clear successor.

"Xi has made important tweaks to selecting the delegates and the pool of senior leaders. These changes overturn earlier conventions designed to foster greater transparency and open competition," wrote Johnson.

It is unknown whether the next Standing Committee will remain at seven members.

Who's leaving?

Since 2002, Standing Committee members aged 68 or above at the time of the congress have stepped down, abiding by the unwritten retirement age first employed by former president Jiang Zemin to dump an ageing rival.

It is not known whether Xi will stick to this convention.

If the informal rule is upheld, two out of seven members will step down, leaving Xi, 69, Li, 67, Zhao, 65, Wang Yang, 67, and Wang Huning, 66.

Li announced in March that he will retire as premier, but it is unclear whether he -- or some of the others below 68 -- will stay on in the Standing Committee.

Analysts say the selection of his successor will reflect Xi's influence.

Another nine of the Politburo's 25 members are also due to retire, leaving a number of Xi's close allies likely to be promoted to top posts.

Will a successor to Xi emerge?

Xi has scrapped China's two-term presidential limit and discarded several other party norms such as indicating a successor by his second term.

This further consolidates his personal power and raises uncertainties about how long he plans to rule, making potential successors vie for his approval.

He has already installed close allies in top positions this year, such as the new minister for public security Wang Xiaohong, 65.

Shanghai party chief and Xi ally Li Qiang has retained his post despite a controversial two-month Covid lockdown in the key city.

Top names for further promotion into the Politburo Standing Committee include Hu Chunhua, 65, close political aide Ding Xuexiang, 60 and Li Xi, 66, analysts say.

Will Xi reign supreme?

Analysts expect Xi to reinforce his stature as China's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

Since last autumn party propaganda has gone into overdrive to bolster Xi's legacy, diminish the achievements of his predecessors and further enshrine him in the highest echelons of Communist Party mythology.

Each Chinese leader since Mao has had one of his personal political philosophies or ideas codified in the state constitution.

Xi's political ideology was included in 2018 and analysts say he will be looking to shorten the clunky "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" to the pithier "Xi Jinping Thought" -- putting him on a par with Mao.

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