China’s ‘election season’

[View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( That President Xi Jinping wants longer in power in China is no great secret. But a document coming this week pretty much confirms it. Only Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping have ever published a so-called historical resolution, and both used their doctrines on Chinese history to dominate the Communist Party until their deaths. Getting party leaders to back his magnum opus as they huddle until Thursday at a military hotel in snowy Beijing will be the clearest sign yet Xi has the power base to clinch a precedent-defying third term at next year’s once-in-five-year congress. State media is already heralding his coronation, with the People’s Daily describing Xi last week as “a blessing for the party, the country, the people and the Chinese nation.” Key Reading: - [China Plenum: What to Know About Xi's Doctrine That Could Let Him Rule for Life]( - [Xi’s Expanding Power Is a Growing Risk for China’s Economy]( - [China Military Uses Fake U.S. Aircraft Carrier for Missile Target Practice]( - [China’s Communist Party Meeting Is Coming. What’s the Agenda?]( - [Here’s Where Xi May Strike Next in China’s Regulatory Crackdown]( The Central Committee only convenes seven times in its five-year political cycle, and this meeting, the sixth plenum, could be the final chance for Xi to get everyone on board. With a historical resolution and an extended mandate, Xi will be emboldened to push his “common prosperity” campaign to close the wealth gap (even as it wiped over $1 trillion off both stock markets and commodity futures), and cut dependence on China’s great rival, the U.S. The world’s two largest economies are already clashing on everything from tech to trade and the fate of Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province and has vowed to take by force, if necessary. While the prospect of a war remains remote, the democratically governed island has become the biggest potential flashpoint between the U.S. and China. Mao Zedong said in 1945 that the sixth plenum “determines the destiny of China.” This week just might prove him right.— [Jenni Marsh]( A screen displays a People’s Liberation Army advertisement in Beijing. Photographer: Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg Click [here]( to see our Bloomberg Politics website and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Victory lap | U.S. President Joe Biden plans a tour to sell his big [victory]( — the passage of a $550 billion bipartisan public works bill — to the American people, even as they face rising prices for fuel, food and housing. He can now point to the promise of years of infrastructure investment at home. - The Pentagon plans to place as much as $2 billion in rush orders by early March for customized semiconductors used in [weapons]( like the B-2 bomber before the production line for them is shut down. Wrong move | U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is battling a mounting backlash over his attempt to protect a Conservative lawmaker found to have broken lobbying rules, with Parliament set to hold an emergency debate today. Read [here]( how the prime minister was forced into a U-turn. An energy crisis in two of Asia’s key economies that caused power shortages and threatened growth is beginning to [ease](, though risks remain. Supplies of coal, the key source of electricity generation in China and India, are rising again after governments pressed miners to boost output. That’s allowing power plants and major industrial consumers to start rebuilding stockpiles of the fossil fuel. Reality check | The [message]( from thousands of weekend protesters outside the COP26 climate talks in Scotland was one many insiders would agree with — progress is still not enough to avoid catastrophe. As [Akshat Rathi]( reports, pledges made by governments, businesses and money managers don’t add up to temperature increases remaining below the 1.5°C enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. - You can also [sign up]( to get the latest from Glasgow in your inbox every day until Nov. 12. Political abuse | Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega [called]( his opponents “demons” and “terrorists” as voting went ahead yesterday in what Biden denounced as a “pantomime election.” With seven rivals in jail or under house arrest, the former guerrilla is expected to win a fourth consecutive five-year term. Read [here]( for more. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Is India Really Ready For the Next Big Outbreak?: Ruth Pollard]( - [Tripwire U.S. Forces May Not Deter China and Russia: Hal Brands]( - [Leaders Admire Churchill But Don’t Understand Him: Max Hastings]( Rich reward | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s battle for lower interest rates risks [sharpening]( inequalities in Turkey’s economy and hurting his working-class supporters. As [Asla Kandemir]( and [Cagan Koc]( explain, while exporters to property tycoons are cashing in as borrowing costs drop and the lira weakens, runaway food inflation and skyrocketing rents are squeezing those at the bottom. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. What to Watch This Week - Iran urged the U.S. to [change]( its approach to sanctions and abandon the Trump-era “maximum pressure” strategy as its top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, heads to Europe to discuss efforts to revive the 2015 atomic deal. - Tens of thousands of residents of Addis Ababa took to the streets yesterday to denounce rebels [threatening]( to march on Ethiopia’s capital and to reject foreign involvement in the country’s civil war. - The United Arab Emirates said oil prices would be even [higher]( today if it wasn’t for OPEC+, signaling the group will continue resisting U.S. pressure to pump faster. - China issued guidelines to reduce pollution and [cut]( carbon emissions in an effort to address environmental issues in key regions and industries. - Argentina holds mid-term elections this weekend that will be a [test]( of President Alberto Fernandez’s beleaguered coalition. Thanks to the 38 readers who answered our quiz on Friday and congratulations to Gerry Verschoyle, who was the first to name Ethiopia as the country that declared a state of emergency and called on residents to arm themselves and defend the capital from a rebel advance. And finally ... Anyone who has been to a movie theater in Thailand knows the [routine](: Before the film starts, everyone is asked to stand during a royal anthem. Nowadays more and more people are opting to stay seated rather than pay respect to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose short time on the throne has seen unprecedented calls for reform of the monarchy. The King stands with Queen Suthida after his coronation in 2019. Photographer: Nicolas Axelrod/Bloomberg  Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. 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