China: Party leaders set to cement Xi's hold on power

Top members of China's Communist Party began a four-day meeting in Beijing on Monday that is likely to see President Xi Jinping put firmly on course for a third term as the country's leader.

Under a 2018 constitutional reform removing presidential term limits, Xi, who is expected to be reappointed as party leader at a full party congress next year, could possibly retain the highest office in the land for the rest of his life.

The Central Committee's plenary session opened with XI's presentation of a draft resolution outlining the party's "major achievements and historical experience" during its century-old history, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

'Historic' resolutions

The resolution, which is expected to be issued on Thursday or a few days later, would be only the third of its kind if adopted. 

The two previous resolutions came at important historical turning points: in 1945, four years before the party seized power from Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, and in 1981, when Deng Xiaoping oversaw major economic reforms as successor to Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China.

The third "historic" resolution is likely to bolster Xi's status as a figure of equal importance to both Mao and Deng.

Xi has now been in power for a decade, a period that has seen China maintain a stable economy while becoming increasingly assertive in terms of foreign policy. He has also overseen a major refurbishment of the military and an ongoing clampdown on corruption among officials.

Repression by Beijing

Xi's administration has come under fire internationally over its treatment of China's Muslim Uyghur minority, many members of which have been subjected to harsh repression and political indoctrination. Beijing has also moved to curb free speech and opposition in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong and voiced increasing threats against self-governing Taiwan.

The 68-year-old Xi has been described by Xinhua as "a man of determination and action, a man of profound thoughts and feelings, a man who inherited a legacy and dares to innovate, and a man who has forward-looking vision and is committed to working tirelessly."

tj/fb (dpa, AP)