Wang Xiangwei

China Briefing | How long does China’s President Xi Jinping plan to hold power? Here’s the magic number

The removal of term limits on the Chinese presidency gives special meaning to Xi Jinping’s self-imposed schedule for restoring China to its rightful place as a world power

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Xi Jinping’s vision for China has made him popular with the Communist Party’s rank and file. Photo: Xinhua

Wang Xiangwei

Published: 8:30am, 3 Mar 2018Updated: 1:28pm, 3 Mar 2018

China’s announcement last Sunday of its intention to remove the constitutional two-term limit for the presidency, clearing the way for President Xi Jinping to rule beyond 2023, has come as a surprise.

As overseas media and analysts scramble to assess the implications and query the development, the answer to one of the biggest questions can in fact be inferred from his landmark marathon speech at the Communist Party’s 19th congress – a speech that gave him a stronger mandate for his second term as the party chief. On October 18, when Xi strode to the podium of the Great Hall of the People and delivered the extraordinarily long address that lasted nearly 3½ hours, he laid out an ambitious vision for the next 30 years. While his speech of more than 34,000 words was littered with landmark goals, the magic number was 2035 – the year Xi has promised China will basically achieve socialist modernisation, 15 years ahead of the schedule set by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping back in the 1980s.

Xi’s confidence in moving Deng’s schedule forward 15 years now takes on a special meaning and provides an intriguing indicator of how long he plans to be in power given the latest announcement.

Speculation about Xi’s future has been growing since he declined to anoint an heir apparent in the party’s new leadership line-up unveiled immediately after the congress, marking a break from a succession system of peaceful power transfers which first took place in 2002.

Xi’s no Mao … or Deng … or Chiang – so who is he?

Many observers originally believed Xi would signal his intention much later in his second term, which would have seen him further tighten his grip on power.

The fact that he has revealed his hand just as his second term has started highlights not only his dominance but also the urgency with which he must advance his agenda given his self-imposed deadline to restore China to its rightful place as a world power.