Territorial expansion and economic revival. These seem to be the focus of the new leaders that took over the helm of China last November 15.

Territorial expansion is bad news for the Philippines. It means more tension in the South China Sea. It means revival of a militarist Japan. It means greater United States involvement in the Philippines in the guise of protecting the archipelago – from terrorists and foreign invaders.

Economic revival, of course, cannot but be good news for the world. China today accounts for half of the world’s economic growth.

China, as you now, is the world’s most populous country (1.347 billion vs. 1.21 billion for India) and its second largest economy ($7.2 trillion GDP vs. $14.99 trillion for the United States). China has the world’s largest army, with about 2.285 million active members and $143 billion budget (two percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product).

A month ago China had the biggest shuffle of the Chinese leadership in 10 years.

Xi Jinping, 59, was sworn in as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He leads the seven-seat Political Bureau Standing Committee.

Reported The Economist: “For the first time since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, China’s most important reins of power have been handed over at the same time to a single man: Xi Jinping.”

On November 15, Hu Jintao stepped down not only as the Communist Party’s general secretary, but also as head of China’s army. Xi then becomes both CCP general secretary and head of China’s army.

The other six members of the Politburo standing committee are: Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli. Li, 57, is the prime minister in waiting, replacing the outgoing PM Wen Jiabao.

Xinhua said “the seven Standing Committee members of the Political Bureau have witnessed and endured China’s vicissitudes and hardships over the last six decades, including the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Xi and Li were born in the 1950s, while the other five were born in the mid- to late 1940s.”

The seven were elected at the first plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee following the CPC’s 18th National Congress. Their election marked a smooth top leadership transition following the 16th national congress of the Party in 2002, Xinhua reported on November 15.

“The smooth transition suggests that the Party is moving steadily towards an established norm regarding the handing over of power, which will be crucial for sustained stability and development of the country,” Xinhua said, quoting analysts.

The son of a Chinese political leader, Xi acknowledged the Communist Party faces many severe challenges and many pressing problems, like corruption and separation from the people.

History-minded, Xi has a chemical engineering degree and a doctorate of law from the prestigious Qinghua University. As vice president, he once told the Washington Post: “The vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China and the US.”

Li studied law and a doctorate in economics from the elite Beijing University. As PM, his main job is overseeing the economy.

Xinhua said “over his 40-year-long career, Xi left his footprint in both the comparatively underdeveloped inland and rural areas, such as a commune in Shaanxi province and Zhengdong county in Hebei province, as well as the more prosperous coastal Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and the country’s financial and economic hub of Shanghai.”

In his first interaction with journalists, Xi seemed to show little of the promise of a bold reformer. Said The Economist:

“He seemed relaxed and upbeat in his delivery (in the purest Mandarin tones of any of China’s supreme leaders since the party came to power in 1949). But his comments were bland.

“After a year of huge scandal, involving the purge of a Politburo member, Bo Xilai, for alleged corruption and complicity in the cover-up of a murder, Xi referred only briefly to the ‘serious challenges’ the party now faces, including that of corruption and becoming ‘divorced from the people.’”. He took no questions.

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John Gokongwei’s URC sent me boxes of goodies as Christmas gift. Thank you, John, my compadre and friend. One box contained URC’s latest product – Chicharon ni Mang Juan. Mang Juan is slang for ordinary Filipino. It is also the Tagalog of John. The chicharon is not pork. It is mostly chemical additives and dried vegetables plus MSG. It tastes good. It shows that URC remains among the best snack foods manufacturers in this country though it is no match to Carlos Chan’s Oishi in China. Thank you, Don Carlos, for your boxes of snack foods.

Thank you, John, for your Christmas gift. Thank you too to those who sent their Christmas gifts. Gifts this year are fewer (despite the so-called economic boom) but many are substantial and meaningful and personally selected by the givers.

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