Chinese President Xi Jinping secured an expected third term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party on Sunday.
The third term is a break from precedent allowing Xi, who came to power in 2012, to extend his decade-long leadership for another five years. It's not clear how long he will remain in power, but some believe he will try to do so for life.
Xi paved the path to rule beyond a decade when he eliminated the two-term limit on the Chinese presidency in 2018, which was put in place by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982.
China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported the news in March 2018 with the headline: "China's national legislature adopts constitutional amendment."
It came after the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) central committee proposed China's constitution be amended so that it no longer contained a section stipulating that the president and vice-president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms."
At the time, Xinhua reported that the changes "won approval from both inside and outside the Party, is of historic significance for ensuring prosperity and lasting security of both the Party and the country."
Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the London University School of Oriental and African Studies, told Newsweek that Xi "basically took over control of the Party, the state, the military, the secret Service and the police during his decade in control, and made it clear to other top level leaders that he represents the Party and anyone who opposes him is opposing the Party.
"He changed the rules by requiring the establishment to agree to remove a term limit to the top leader but just used his authority to require people to retire or stay, side-tracking the age rule for office. He also has the anti-corruption drive in place to ensure everyone knows that Xi can and will take them down on corruption grounds if they should try to obstruct Xi's plan to stay in power."
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who turned 70 earlier this month, made similar changes to allow him to potentially hold onto power in his country until 2036. He has ruled Russia for more than 20 years, longer than any Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin, as either president or prime minister.
Last April, the Russian leader signed a law after a 2020 vote that backed changes to the country's constitution to reset his term limits and allow him to run for two more, back-to-back six-year terms.
Putin said at the time that resetting the term count was necessary to keep his lieutenants focused on their work instead of "darting their eyes in search for possible successors."
However, the opposition criticized the 2020 constitutional vote, saying that it was tarnished by widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities, plus a lack of transparency and hurdles to independent monitoring.
Putin Congratulates Xi on Another Term
On Sunday, Putin congratulated Xi on his third term and said he looked forward to further developing a "comprehensive partnership" and "strategic alliance" between their two countries.
"The results of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party fully confirmed your high political authority and the unity of the party you head," Putin told Xi, according to the Kremlin's website. "I am certain that the resolutions of the congress will help successfully implement the grand social and economic tasks facing China, and will assist in strengthening the country's position on the international arena."
It is "not surprising" that Xi and Putin "find much to admire in each other," Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King's College London, said in an article for the New Statesman in August.
"They have both found ways to consolidate their autocratic rule by getting round constitutions that ensured rotating leaderships by limiting presidents to two terms," he added.
Newsweek reached out to Freedman and other experts for comment.
Update 10/23/22, 9:13 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add comments from Steve Tsang.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
