Xi Jinping cleared the way to rule China indefinitely
He removed post-Mao rules meant to prevent one-man rule, and his tenure is now the longest since Mao.
wsj.com · How Xi Jinping Steamrolls Dissent With Tactics From Stalin and Mao - WSJXi Jinping has cleared the way to rule China indefinitely.
In his first ten years at the top, he set aside the customary retirement ages for top officials and ended the two-term restriction on the presidency. Those were safeguards introduced after Mao Zedong, the revolutionary leader who governed China from 1949 to 1976, to keep power from concentrating in a single leader again.
The changes left him able to stay on as head of the party and the state without a set end date. Now 73 and in his 14th year as party leader, his tenure is the longest since Mao. The aim, as described in the reporting, is to shape China's future for years ahead and to match the United States in military and economic strength.
Questions people ask
How did Xi remove the presidential term limit?
In March 2018, China's legislature, the National People's Congress, approved a constitutional change removing the provision that the president and vice president could serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms. The party leadership proposed the change, and delegates passed it by a near-unanimous vote.
What were China's age-based retirement norms?
After Mao, the Communist Party developed informal rules that senior leaders were expected to retire around age 68, often described as 'seven up, eight down,' meaning a 67-year-old could stay on while a 68-year-old stepped down. The practice was meant to ensure regular turnover at the top and stop any single leader from holding power for life.
How does Xi's time in power compare with Mao's?
Mao ruled for 27 years, from the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 until his death in 1976. Xi took over as party chief in 2012, so at 14 years he has served longer than Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, or Hu Jintao, but still well short of Mao.