Chinese leader Xi Jinping is using the March People's Congress, a joint meeting of the Chinese parliament and political advisory body, to approve a number of appointments to key positions in the country's government.. These will mostly be people he has known since his youth, or trusted officials with whom Xi worked for decades early in his career, as well as "

The appointments mark the end of Xi's consolidation of power as he enters an unprecedented third five-year term as leader of the Communist Party of China.. They also signal the emergence of a new set of factions among Xi loyalists..

Wu Guoguang, who worked as an adviser to former Chinese Premier Zhao Jiang, wrote an article that "

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A characteristic feature of Xi's leadership over the past ten years has been the centralization of decision-making, which has reduced the influence of other senior leaders.. He has also uprooted previously powerful networks linked to predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin..

While the new factions do not pose a threat to Xi's "

Analysts also believe that understanding the biographies, personalities, ideological and political allegiances, and personal connections of Xi's top supporters is critical to clarifying the often unpredictable world of Chinese politics..

“In the coming years, factional competition will be inevitable.. Generational change, in terms of the internal circulation of the elite and the succession of power, will also fuel the power struggle between the groups that are now being formed under Xi’s rule,” Wu notes..

In his article, Wu also wrote that the four critical groups include officials who have worked with Xi in Fujian, Zhejiang and Shanghai, as well as in Shaanxi, a northern province where the Xi family has deep ties..

He singled out five more groups, including a group of officials from the military and industrial sectors, those with ties to the prestigious Tsinghua University, representatives associated with the Central Party School, several officials associated with Xi Peng Liyuan's wife, and a group from the security sector..

“More broadly, the growth of the [military-industrial] group seems to be indicative of Xi's new strategy for economic and technological development, with an emphasis on the state's potential to promote technological progress and reduce the role of the private sector in the Chinese economy,” Wu said..

UC San Diego Chinese politics expert Victor Shi narrowed down the most important political groups to those that Xi formed when he was governor of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, as well as to a group of cadres appointed to positions in the party's powerful anti-corruption bodies..

Xi's Fujian "

" We must remember that this was the longest period in Xi's career.. He spent more than ten years in Fujian. So this place left a deep imprint on him, and vice versa,” Shi said..

Officials from Zhejiang, where Xi presided from 2002 to 2007, include Li Qian, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and a top candidate for China's next prime minister, as well as new Guangdong Party chief Huang Kunming and new national security minister Chen Yixin..

Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese politics at the Brookings Institution, says experts are now only at an early stage of understanding the very complex new political landscape in China..

In his opinion, this means that you need to start anew by analyzing the extensive network of personal connections of the leadership, as well as differences in politics, ideology and influence..

However, an expert on Chinese and Soviet politics, Joseph Thorigian, points to failed attempts among analysts in predicting contemporary affairs in the secret party corridors of Beijing.. However, he also draws some parallels to the Mao era, after he purged the leaders of his generation and supported the young cadres..

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Any groups that form in the upper echelons of the CCP are also at risk of incurring the wrath of Xi, who cracked down on political opposition and perceived a threat to his rule..

In the months leading up to the October party congress, former justice and public security officials were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for being members of a "

Thorigian added that such political groups in China "

“You don’t want to look like you are working too closely with each other because that would be an immediate warning sign for Xi Jinping. He will want to smash it and destroy it,” the analyst said..

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