Neil Thomas, a Chinese politics fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis, said the appointment suggested that Xi is feeling more politically secure than in his first two terms.
“Xi, in his third term, appears to be adopting an approach of delegated centralisation, where he cedes none of his centralised political authority but delegates more policymaking tasks to trusted aides,” he said.
“This more oracular leadership style may help Xi to conserve energy as he ages, deflect blame for any policy mistakes onto his lieutenants, and preserve his political dominance by dividing governance responsibilities among different networks of his supporters.”
Thomas noted that Ding’s background – including mechanical engineering studies at university before spending the first 15-plus years of his career at the Shanghai Research Institute for Materials – made him a good fit for the role.
According to Xinhua, Ding faced hundreds of China’s top academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering – the country’s top research institutions – in his formal debut in the new role.
Ding told the scientists to focus on their key tasks and anchor on strategic goals with a firm determination and tenacious will, invoking the Chinese saying that it takes “10 years to sharpen a sword”, Xinhua said.
He also emphasised the need for “a new system” to mobilise resources nationwide and speed up China’s scientific and technological innovation so that the country can break through the major bottlenecks it is facing.
Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, noted that science and technology policies were previously handled by Liu He, the former fourth ranking vice-premier.
Ding’s appointment shows a “stronger political will behind science and technology development as it will be led by a PSC member, who is at the innermost decision making circle”, he said.
A political scientist from Nanjing University said an additional advantage for Ding is that he is the youngest member of the seven-man PSC, giving his career a longer runway.
“Ding is only 61. He is most likely going to continue to serve in the next PSC after the party’s 21st National [People’s] Congress in 2027,” said the political scientist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“My guess is that part of the reason for putting Ding in charge of the tech drive is to ensure continuity and consistency in China’s science and tech policies for the next decade, as much science and tech research takes time to bear fruit,” he said.
