On Sunday, the Communist Party leader broke with the traditional two-term limit, further surrounded himself with loyalists, and extended his authoritarian rule over the world’s second-largest economy. The Chinese government introduced a two-term limit in 1982 to prevent a return to a Mao-style cult of personality. Xi-Jinping is the head of state, military, and the Communist Party and has continued to take out political rivals. Earlier in the weekend Xi-Jinping had former Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, publicly removed from a session of congress:
Watch Xi as his predecessor Hu Jintao is dragged away…China is already wiping references to him from the web.
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) October 22, 2022
Xi’s claim on a third term comes after the close of the five-yearly Communist Party Congress. Xi announced six men – Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi – to stand alongside him on China’s top ruling body.
The lineup, filled with Xi loyalists, made clear that Xi had not only broken with recent precedent to take on a third term, but also concentrated power at the top of government to a degree that has never been seen in China.
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