Do ethnic minorities add more than just a dash of colour on China’s political stage?

Name: Explainer: What is the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th national congress?
Uploaded: 2022-10-19T04:00:16.000Z
Duration: 5 min 51 s
Description: Explainer: What is the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th national congress?

Experts say ethnic minority representation in senior leadership will continue to weaken as Beijing puts more focus on integration in one national identity

Key factors for promotion boil down to unquestionable loyalty and the ability to deliver economic growth targets while maintaining stability

6-MIN READ6-MIN

Mimi Lau

Published: 12:00pm, 19 Oct 2022Updated: 9:05pm, 19 Oct 2022

Corrected [8:02pm, 19 Oct, 2022]

[8:02pm, 19 Oct, 2022]
This article was amended to correct the name of Professor Susan McCarthy and Aaron Glasserman's universities.

Members of China’s 55 non-Han ethnic minorities present a colourful diversion on the national political stage each March when their bright outfits and dazzling headpieces break up a drab sea of dark-suited Han delegates at the annual sessions of the legislature and a key advisory body.

But the spotlight is very much on the latter, and that is also the case at the Communist Party’s national congress, which began on Sunday. President Xi Jinping is set to kick off his third term as the party’s leader at the gathering, and unveil a new leadership line-up that may include a female ethnic-minority member in the Politburo.

An examination of the résumés of dozens of minority cadres at the top of the leadership shows that, much like their Han counterparts, key elements needed for promotion boil down to unquestionable loyalty and the ability to deliver economic growth targets while maintaining stability. Those with expertise in science and technology are also likely to be favoured.

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Explainer: What is the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th national congress?

The representation of ethnic minority officials at the top has decreased in recent years, amid Beijing’s push to fuse ethnic identities into one Chinese national identity.

“This shows the representation of ethnic minority cadres among high-level officials is not as high a priority as in previous years,” said Lai Hongyi, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham’s school of politics and international relations.