Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to lay the groundwork for a third term during a meeting of the powerful Communist Party in Beijing on Monday.
Xi, who is also the party’s general secretary, presented a draft resolution on the party’s “great achievements and historical experience” at the opening of the Central Committee plenary session, which began on Monday.
The academics say the text will be the party’s third major declaration in its 100-year history, reinforcing Xi’s position as the equal of the founder of the People’s Republic of China and his successor, Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw crucial economic reforms.
China removed the term limit for the presidency in 2018, which could keep Xi in power for the rest of his life. He was expected to be re-elected as the party’s leader in 2022 through an obscure process at the party’s congress, which is held every five years.
This week’s meeting of about 200 members of the Central Committee concluded on Thursday with the publication of the document.
Xi has already given his opinion through public statements, and the statement on the party’s history is not expected to come as any surprise, said Yang Yang, a professor at the School of Political Science and Public Administration of the China University of Political Science and Law.
The document will summarize China’s rise from foreign domination, its economic rise and its transformation into a world power, Yang said.
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