Four Strong Articles in the PLA Daily: Is Xi Jinping’s Military Power Being Undermined? Xi Reveals Internal Party Conflicts (Provided by Tang Qing on Current Affairs)
[People News] The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently announced that it will hold a grand event in Tiananmen Square on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a speech and inspect the troops. This has reignited doubts among observers at home and abroad about whether Xi has truly lost power. In a previous article titled “A Detail Reveals Xi Is Being Arranged to Inspect Troops — Fourth Plenary Session Delayed to Autumn?”, this author pointed out through subtle clues in CCP news that even if Xi gives a speech and reviews the military, it does not mean he retains power. Rather, it suggests that those controlling the situation within the CCP are not yet ready to reveal the truth. It is likely that the decisive Fourth Plenary Session will be delayed until autumn.
One strong piece of evidence pointing to Xi’s loss of power recently emerged from the CCP’s military media: the People’s Liberation Army Pictorial (PLA Pictorial) has once again removed Xi Jinping from its cover.
The PLA Pictorial, published by the PLA News Communication Centre, traces its origins back to the CCP’s revolutionary-era Red Star Pictorial and the wartime Jinchaji Pictorial, and was officially launched in February 1951 as a monthly publication.
According to its self-description, the PLA Pictorial "has always upheld the Party and military’s ideological front" and "vigorously promotes the great achievements of building a strong military." For this reason, it has been named “Best Pictorial of the Year” multiple times by China’s pictorial magazine association. As one of the mouthpieces of the CCP military, it also serves as a barometer for Xi Jinping’s political standing.
Typically, the magazine’s issue month lags one month behind the publishing date. After reports of Xi’s stroke and power transition emerged during the CCP’s Third Plenary Session in July 2023, the August issue (No. 7) of PLA Pictorial no longer featured Xi on the cover. Instead, it used a photo of military helicopters. The following September and October issues (No. 8 and 9) also omitted Xi’s image.
It wasn’t until the November issue (No. 10) that Xi returned to the cover, and he continued to appear through the March 2024 issue. But once again, the May and June issues (covering April and May activities) removed Xi’s image. This irregularity clearly reflects internal political turmoil within the CCP.
Since the 19th Party Congress, when Xi consolidated absolute power and became the CCP’s “supreme leader,” state and military media routinely glorified Xi. The PLA Pictorial, being a key military publication, has long showcased Xi on its cover during major events. So, unless under special circumstances, Xi’s image is almost always the default cover choice.
For example, of the six issues published from January to June 2024, only the May issue featured something other than Xi — the maiden voyage of the Fujian aircraft carrier, which is a major milestone for the Chinese military. The rest featured Xi’s photos.
In 2023, only the January, February, and May issues did not feature Xi on the cover. Those featured themes, like summarising the military’s loyalty to Xi in 2022, New Year’s hardships on border troops, and the Shandong carrier fleet, are all understandable reasons to give Xi a break. After all, he dominated the covers for the remaining nine months.
However, after Xi’s reported incident in July 2024, three consecutive issues removed his image from the cover — an anomaly. This suggests that Xi’s sudden downfall caught the top leadership off guard, and the swift shift of power — particularly Xi’s loss of control over the military and the Party — has thrown both Party and military circles into chaos.
It can be inferred that after Xi’s fall from power, the CCP power brokers have spent months wrestling over how to strip him of real authority without causing too much external or internal shock before any official announcement. This also involves balancing factions and weakening Xi’s loyalists. Ultimately, they seem to have settled on a temporary compromise: Xi continues to appear in public, but propaganda around him is scaled down. During the “Two Sessions” this year, senior officials were permitted to follow formalities in praising Xi, paving the way for his eventual exit while preparing the public narrative in advance.
After the “Two Sessions,” propaganda on Xi clearly declined, with marked changes in tone in May and June. The shifting dynamics within the CCP and the military inevitably affected how the PLA Pictorial was edited. The removal of Xi from the covers of the May and June issues likely came as a directive from senior military leadership.
It’s important to note that Xi’s absence from the covers wasn’t due to a lack of high-profile events. In April and May, he travelled to Shanghai and Luoyang, visited Russia, attended a major celebration, and met with Putin — all typically cover-worthy moments in the past. Therefore, the real reason Xi was removed is simply that he has indeed lost power. As for Xi still being allowed to deliver a speech and inspect the troops at the September 3rd commemoration, as always, until the CCP officially announces the truth, Xi and other senior officials will continue performing their roles on stage.
△ Originally published by People News
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