Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Xi before his speech at the party congress. Photo: Xinhua/Pang Xinglei via Getty Images
China’s Communist Party announced Sunday that it will eliminate term limits on the presidency, allowing Xi Jinping to serve indefinitely rather than step down in five years' time.
The big picture: Xi, 64, has set an incredibly ambitious foreign policy, and more firmly established China as a rival to U.S. influence around the world. At home, he has ruled as a strongman with no tolerance for dissent, and methodically removed nearly all checks on his power. Here’s how he has positioned himself as, essentially, China’s emperor for life.
Rise to — and consolidation of — power
- October 2007: After 25 years in a series of government posts across four provinces, Xi, the son of a former high-ranking official who was purged from the party in the 1960s, is named to the Politburo standing committee.
- March 2008: Xi becomes China’s vice president, and is expected to succeed president Hu Jintao.
- March 2013: Xi replaces Hu as China’s president. He quickly sends signals that he will seek to expand China’s influence and centralize power in his own hands, including the unveiling of the Belt and Road initiative and the formation of a new National Security Commission.
- April 2016: State media refers to Xi as commander in chief of China’s new Joint Operations Command, underlining his control over the military.
- October 2016: Xi is named the party’s “core leader,” a title given to three previous Chinese leaders but not to Hu.
- October 2017: At the Party Congress in Beijing, "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” is enshrined into the constitution, making Xi the first leader since Mao to be named in the constitution during his lifetime.
- Xi also declined to name two younger officials to the standing committee, signaling he has no interest in grooming potential successors.
- February 2018: The term limits decision brings to an end the transition process created to ensure stable transitions within the party, and suggests Xi plans to stay on long after his second term ends in 2023.