BEIJING ¨C Xi Jinping, poised to clinch a third five-year term as China¡¯s leader, will on Sunday preside over the most dramatic moment of the Communist Party¡¯s twice-a-decade congress and reveal the members of its elite Politburo Standing Committee.
Xi¡¯s break with precedent to rule beyond a decade was set in motion when he abandoned presidential term limits in 2018. His norm-busting as China¡¯s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong has made it even harder to predict who will join him on the standing committee.
The 69-year-old leader¡¯s grip on power appears undiminished by a sharp economic slowdown, frustration over his ¡°COVID zero¡± policy, and China¡¯s increasing estrangement from the West, exacerbated by his support for Russia¡¯s Vladimir Putin.
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