“Does this mean that we are witnessing the end of an era?”Probably not, but the post-trump trade war has certainly brought a lot of instability to China,” notes Claude arpy.

Every year, the main power brokers of the Vupom airborne discuss the future of the nation (and the Communist party) in an informal setting.

As a rule, we are only indirectly aware of the presence of senior management in Beidaihe; not reported anywhere in China or abroad.

Historically, Beidaihe is often in the news in China, for good or bad.

In August 1958, Beidaihe witnessed an extended meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist party of China.

At the Central stage of the Beidaich conference in 1958, the economic situation was bad (as it was this year); industrial and agricultural production issues were discussed for several days, and finally a number of important documents were issued.

It was then decided to raise the steel production target to 10.7 million tons and the grain target to 350 million tons; the following year, it was proposed to produce 30 million tons of steel and 500 million tons of grain.

Mao Zedong’s megalomaniac goals and nationwide creation of people’s communes will lead China to a Great leap, during which 40 million Chinese died.

The South China Morning Post, however, noted: “there could be a cloud at this year’s seaside gathering as the escalating trade dispute with the United States threatens to affect not only China’s economy but also its domestic and foreign policies.

Taiwan news also believes that ” problems may be brewing for Chinese leaders at the Beidaihe summit.

The economic “problems” are partly due to the policies of US President Donald trump, who, with his erratic decisions, seems to have destabilised Beijing, in particular XI Jinping, who is bound to get the blame for the failures.

Taiwan news explained: “Some observers believe the sudden Politburo meeting to be a political demonstration of XI’s strength ahead of the upcoming CPC summit in Beidaihe.

A model in the trends publication The People’s Daily told many observers: XI was absent from the front pages for several days before his overseas trip.

Does XI want to ” turn the spotlight on his leadership, perhaps in an attempt to reduce his cult of personality, which some fear has grown excessive to the point that responsibility?”Asked the Japanese edition

Other rumors say Perm Li Keqiang, who heads the state Council (China’s government), “may be campaigning behind the scenes to diminish XI’s authority, especially on economic issues and trade negotiations with the US.

The “ten thousand words Petition” has been systematically criticizing retrograde trends in Chinese social and political life, particularly since late 2017, commented Initium Media, a Hong Kong-based website.

Developing, he continued: “He explicitly points out and warns against the danger of a return to totalitarianism, and calls for an end to the cult of personality and the renewal of terms of office as state Chairman. The play was one of the few direct criticisms of the contemporary woes in China among the intellectual class.”

Xu Zhangrong’s essay entitled “Our terror now” and our hopes is in four parts: four bottom lines; Eight forms of anxiety; Eight hopes, Temporary.

Among the eight fears are “increased repression and reform of the thought of intellectuals trapped in a new armed race, war and a new cold war” or ” the end of the opening and comprehensive return of totalitarian politics.”

The eight hopes include: Stop spending money abroad; abolish the privilege system for higher-ranking cadres; immediately end the cult of personality or overturn the June 4 political verdict (Tiananmen square massacre in 1989).

Many of these issues are linked to China Xi’s dream and the daily more powerful (and bullying) Chinese state.

China is discovering that every coin has two sides; the” side effects ” of rapid growth and the party’s pervasive dominance have triggered recent troubling developments.

Citing an example of Beijing’s understanding of trump, the Hong Kong newspaper explained: “Beijing seems to have been caught off guard by trump’s protectionist trade blitz, and that it has underestimated the rise of anti-China sentiment among the American elite.”

Beijing tight control over ideology at all levels, including College campuses, which requires students and researchers to closely follow the Communist party line, hinders the work of think tanks.

As a result, no one was able to predict the new US policy: “any discussion of government policy without permission can be seen as meaningless and betraying unfounded criticism of the party’s decisions and policies.”

“China seems set for an inexorable rise in superpower status to rival the US. But it begs another question that has been sweeping Beijing during the Northern summer – are we now witnessing the peak of XI Jinping?

McGregor cited various sources: retired leaders, rival factions within the Communist party, and some ” intellectuals.”

According to McGregor, ” XI has made many enemies along the way in the country’s traditional power centers.”

Probably not, but the post-trump trade war has certainly brought a lot of instability to China.

One sign of a shift in the balance of power was Prime Minister Li Keqiang’s recent visit to Tibet. It was the Premier’s first ever visit to the roof of the world.

Like everything under the Communist regime, these visits are illegal and Tibet has never been the responsibility of the Prime Minister. It is usually the head of the Chinese people’s political consultative conference, also a member of the all-powerful Politburo standing Committee (currently, Wang Yang) that “inspects” Tibet.

One reason for this unexpected change may be that XI Jinping (then traveling in Africa) is finally delegating some of his responsibilities to Li Keqiang.

The current scenario will inevitably lead to profound changes in China; it could lead, among other things, to more collective leadership of China’s Affairs.

All right. however, it is doubtful if Professor Xu Zhangrong’s Eight Hopes could soon become a reality.