Xi Jinping's China

China is Focusing on Technological Self-Reliance

The Chinese Communist Party has concluded a week-long political gathering in Beijing and laid the groundwork for the country's next five-year plan, which is expected to be presented early next year.

According to state media, the plan will focus on accelerating China's technological and scientific self-reliance. The AP writes that this has become increasingly important for Beijing as the United States has restricted access to semiconductors and other advanced technologies.

Experts the news agency has spoken to believe that one can read a strengthened self-confidence on the part of China in relation to the United States.

- This means that China will probably make higher demands on the United States to reach a settlement, if one is to be reached at all, says Gary Ng, senior economist at the French investment bank Natixis.

Dozens missing at Xi's party meeting - raising questions about purges

The purges of senior military and party officials within the Chinese Communist Party may be more extensive than previously known, writes the BBC.

Official figures from this week's political meeting in Beijing indicate that more people have disappeared or been removed than have been reported so far.

Only 168 of 205 central committee members attended. In ten cases, it is known that people have been purged - and one person has died. But what has happened to the other 26? The BBC notes that you need to have "a pretty good excuse for not showing up", such as being seriously ill.

According to the official line, the purges in the party are about fighting corruption, but another possibility is that it is a way for Xi Jinping to purge political rivals and other undesirables.