The fact that it's his third is historic and it cemented him as china's most powerful ruler in decades.

She's appointment was confirmed over the weekend at a party congress in Beijing there.

He shook up the party's senior ranks, promoting loyalists proteges to china's top leadership while sweeping away factional rivals and for the first time in 25 years, there are no women holding top jobs in the polit bureau.

We can speak now to political scientist Professor Steve Sung, the director of the China Institute at Soas London.

Professor, welcome to DW News Asia regarding Xi Jinping.

You've been quoted as saying that we have seen the end of collective leadership in china and that it's being replaced by strongman rule in your opinion.

What will she's third term in power mean for china now and going into the future?

Well, it means now, china is being reshaped after Xi Jinping's image, he has now replaced anyone from other factions within the Communist Party by his own apologies and proven loyalists.

They will all say yes sir, we will go and follow you wherever you want to take us.

And China is going to be rough for the rest of the world.

You've also said it all now depends on Xi Jinping getting it right.

What does he need to get right?

What he needs to get everything right because he says that the party leads everything everywhere in china and beyond china where china is concerned.

So he has to get the economy right.

He has to get his foreign policy right.

He has to get his social policy right.

If he doesn't do so, big mistakes can be made, can be made and they will have consequences for the people of china and also for the rest of the world.

Could you outline some of what those potential consequences might be?

Well, the civil covid policy, for example, is causing significant slowdown in the chinese economy.

The policy on the real estate market is again causing economic or financial instability in china.

If he insists on using force against Taiwan, we may be facing a situation when uh the United States and china will be actively in engaging in military hostilities with each other and you will also have continuations of the kind of repression of people in Hong kong and in Xinjiang amongst the bigger people.

Professor, there's been a multiparty delegation from the German parliament's Human rights Committee that's been visiting Taiwan.

Let's take a listen to some of what it's had to say.

And then we'll come back to you, We have noted Xi Jinping's intimidation against Taiwan at China's 20th Party Congress.

From our perspective, Taiwan stands at the center of the rivalry between systems.

I mean not only verbal attacks on Taiwan, but a real military threat that we must not underestimate.

I want to emphasize that from Germany's perspective the status quo in the Taiwan strait can only be altered peacefully and in agreement between the two sides, Professor steve Tsang.

It's interesting that this german delegation came at this particular time.

What message if any, does this send to china?

And is this a trip to Taiwan that Beijing would take much notice of?

Well, Beijing will certainly take notice and Beijing will disapprove of it.

But what the delegation is saying are absolutely right.

That is how it should be.

Um it will not go down well in china and the Chinese government should realize that for a german for a delegation from Germany which is very committed to develop mutually beneficial relationship with china to come out and say so shows how far opinions in the Democratic West has changed, but it won't be read that way.

Beijing will simply see this delegation as being anti chinese.

Okay, if we can turn our attention back to the Congress that's just taken place.

There is a lot of speculation around the former leader, hu jintao who was quite publicly and dramatically led or forced out of the Congress.

There are various theories about what exactly happened.

What's your take on all this?

I think some of the explanations are not completely mutually exclusive.

We can see that Jintao is not well but to say that he was being removed because of ill health, I think is stretching it.

Um he was not showing any signs of distress when he was being removed.

His distress comes from being removed and if this was not planned, somebody would be punished for it severely for embarrassing Xi Jinping at the most important political event in his 10 years of rule in china.

Nobody has been punished.

So it will have to be a deliberate attempt by xi Jinping to humiliate hu jintao and send a clear signal that the once mighty youth league faction of which hu jintao is still the spiritual leader is no more Now, there is only one leader in china and that is Xi Jinping paid no attention to former leaders or anybody else.

Speaking of leaders sir, I'd like to ask you finally about lee Kyung who's been appointed china's second most powerful leader.

Who is he?

And what does his appointment demonstrate?

Li chang was a former secretary of Xi Jinping and he was still is the party secretary of shanghai and therefore the apartment in shanghai and he made a mess of the Zero covid policy earlier this year in shanghai but he remains totally loyal to Xi Jinping and to the serial covid policy and for his loyalty has been rewarded, promotions to number two in senior person in china and almost certainly the next premier in this spring, Professor Steve Tsang, the director of the China institute at Soas London.

We really appreciate your insights today.

Thank you very much.