Xi Jinping—China’s “Chairman of Everything”—may soon see his power reduced, China experts said in early July.

The assessment comes after the firing of several military chiefs who are fiercely loyal to Xi. Gen. Miao Hua, Vice Adm. Li Hanjun and top nuclear scientist Liu Shipeng were all in Xi’s inner circle. Their well-established loyalty suggests that they were not purged as part of Xi’s long-running “anti-corruption” campaigns, but at the behest of others in the Chinese Communist Party (ccp). The fact that they were all replaced by non-Xi loyalists suggests that other factions within the ccp are now exercising greater power—and using it to loosen the grip of the 72-year-old Xi Jinping.

“These developments, though rarely acknowledged in state media, hint at fractures inside the tightly guarded corridors of Chinese power,” Firstpost wrote.

That is not the only development that has raised eyebrows among China watchers in recent weeks.

Xi’s personal bodyguard detail was also slashed to half its size. “Given Xi’s high profile and the controversy which surrounds his rule, why would he willingly reduce his bodyguard contingent?” analyst Brandon J. Weichert asked in the National Interest.

Additionally, a mausoleum Xi had named after his late father was abruptly “un-named” in late May. This move reveals that “the temperature of Chinese politics is definitely changing,” said China Insider’s David Zhang.

The People’s Daily, which serves as the official mouthpiece of the ccp, has published significantly fewer photos of and articles about Xi in recent weeks, including two consecutive days with no story at all about him. Chinascope said this marks “an unusual break from the norm, as it usually includes at least one, if not several, reports featuring Xi on its front page.”

The decision was also made for Xi not to attend the annual brics summit this year, for the first time since he assumed the presidency of China in 2012. Instead, Chinese Premier Li Qiang is leading the Chinese delegation this time.

The ccp’s highest decision-making body, the 24-member Politburo, also failed to release any statement about its monthly meeting in May. This was quite unusual, fueling more speculation that a shift was underway in its power structure.

These were all peculiar occurrences, but they alone would not be enough to bring this story beyond the rumor mill. What does move it from speculation to substance is the Politburo report from their June meeting.

‘The Board of Directors Will Now Supervise Every Decision’

This report, published on June 30, announced that the Politburo passed a new policy called “The Work Regulation for the Central Decision-Making and Coordination Body.”

China analyst Jennier Zeng said: “At first glance, it sounds like another dry piece of bureaucratic writing, but this short 300-character report sent shockwaves through China watchers and political insiders.”

It has been surprising because it restructures how the central leadership in Beijing makes decisions. It places notable new checks on certain leadership groups Xi personally established. These groups were focused on such areas as economic planning, military reform or foreign policy. They allowed Xi to sidestep some of the traditional structures within the ccp, such as the State Council and the Politburo Standing Committee. They played a major role in centralizing the power of this man previously believed to be “emperor for life.”

But under the new policy, those once-untouchable groups will be overseen by men outside his inner circle. The oversight is expected to bring regulation and could even open the door to dismantling some of these groups.

“The regulation uses coded but powerful language,” Zeng said. “In a way, it’s like telling a ceo that the board of directors will now supervise every decision he makes.”

This doesn’t mean Xi will be kicked out of office tomorrow. But it does suggest his wings are being clipped. And considering his failings at the helm—slowing growth, crippling the real estate sector, authoring an abysmal covid policy, adding trillions of debt to China’s balance, and maintaining a confrontational posture that has alienated trade partners—it’s not hard to see why ccp elders would want to rein him in.

The Trumpet views this possible shift as significant in part because we have long expected China to form a tight economic alliance with Europe. And during his time at the helm of China, Xi has hindered such an alliance from taking shape.

A Warmer China-Europe Relationship?

Our expectation of a tight-knit China-Europe bloc is built on a warning in the book of Isaiah about an entity called a “mart of nations” that will soon emerge on the world stage.

Verse 1 of Isaiah 23 names one of the leading nations in the alliance as “Chittim,” a name which Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry says signifies modern China. In his book Isaiah’s End-Time Vision, he writes: “Genesis 10:4 lists the sons of Japheth’s fourth-born son: ‘The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim’ (New King James Version). Kittim is synonymous with the Chittim of Isaiah’s prophecy. … After their migration through Central Asia, the Kittim made their appearance in modern-day northeastern China and Mongolia under the name of Khitan in the fourth century a.d. ….”

Isaiah says the other main power will be “Tyre,” which means Europe. “The spiritual center of the [modern European] Holy Roman Empire is called Babylon in your Bible,” Mr. Flurry writes. “But here in Isaiah, the Bible refers to Tyre (and its allies Zidon, etc) as the commercial center of this European power. By understanding the spiritual and the commercial powers, you can understand what a colossus is rising in Europe.”

The Scriptures make clear that this mart of nations will be an unambiguously anti-American trade alliance. Its primary purpose will be to work against the United States and eventually freeze America and some of its allies out of global trade.

But at present, a unified China-Europe bloc seems distant. This is largely because during Xi’s 13 years at the helm, he has strained China’s ties with Europe.

• Xi’s economic protectionism—including systematic IP theft, spying, refusal of reciprocal market access and forced technology transfers—has appalled European policymakers.
• His brutal crackdowns on Hong Kong and Xinjiang have made cooperation with some human-rights championing Europeans difficult.
• His diplomats have adopted “wolf warrior diplomacy,” an aggressive and even combative tone in dealings with Europeans.
• His deep partnership with Russia and refusal to condemn the war against Ukraine have contrasted sharply with Europe’s efforts to punish and isolate Russia over its war.
• His antagonism of South China Sea nations is seen in Europe as weakening the rules-based global order.
• His export controls of rare earth elements and magnets have struck a serious blow to some European manufacturers.

All of these measures have prompted Europeans to sanction some Chinese entities, work toward “de-risking” trade with China, and broadly view China as a systemic rival. They have not killed trade with China but have kept it from reaching anything near its full potential. As China suffers deepening economic woes, it’s easy to see why ccp elders would want to rein in the man who is responsible for so much of the China-Europe friction.

“It is clear that the ccp is attempting to fundamentally change its leadership because there is a real risk to its survival” and the “Chinese elite believe Xi is the cause of that risk,” Weichert wrote. As a result, “the world is witnessing the possible return of a far more technocratic elite that favors scaling back direct confrontation with the West.”

If the changes in Beijing take the shape that Weichert and other analysts predict, the China-Europe relationship could soon receive a major upgrade—just as the Trumpet has been expecting because of the mart of nations prophecy.

To understand more about the mart of nations, the catastrophe it will bring to the U.S., and the hope at the heart of these developments, order your free copy of Isaiah’s End-Time Vision.