Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to secure and unprecedented third term as leader as his grip on power continuously tightens – Photo: AFP JIJI

Chinese President Xi Jinping will receive official approval for a third term today from the National People’s Congress (NPC).

The NPC is also set to formalize last October’s reshuffle of the Politburo, with Xi loyalist Li Qiang set to formally replace Li Keqiang as Premier, among other personnel and policy changes. U.S.-China relations have become more tense recently, including conducting extensive military drills around U.S.-ally Taiwan in January and contemplating sending armaments to Russia in breach of U.S.-led sanctions. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden met with European leaders to discuss possible sanctions against China if it sends Russia armaments and is set to restrict U.S. investment into China to limit its ability to acquire military technologies.

Xi’s personnel and policy changes will likely reinforce China’s aggressive stance towards the U.S. and the West for the rest of 2023 and into the foreseeable future. Mutual antagonism over Russia, Taiwan and economic restrictions on each other will likely lead to further conflicts between the two countries in the coming years, although their economic interconnectedness makes war between them unlikely. However, even if they avoid war, China’s growing economic, diplomatic and military power will likely weaken U.S. hard and soft power in the region and around the world in the coming decade.