Xi promotes Communist Party youth wing ahead of key congress

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is promoting the role of the ruling Communist Party’s youth wing ahead of a key party congress later this year and amid rising economic and social pressures. Addressing a meeting Tuesday marking the centenary of the Communist Youth League of China, Xi said the body should “always be a vanguard force in mobilizing China’s youth in continuous endeavor.” While relying heavily on traditional political formulas, Xi skirted controversial issues, including expectations he will seek a third five-year term as party leader at the congress later this year. China’s economy has also taken a battering linked to the government’s insistence on a hardline “zero-COVID” policy, increasing employment pressures on the country’s 11 million new college graduates.