China’s Xi pushes forward to third term despite mounting crises
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Hong Kong (CNN) The countdown to Xi Jinping’s expected coronation has officially started.
In 47 days, China’s ruling Communist Party will hold its 20th National Congress, at which Xi is widely expected to extend his hold on power for another five years — a move that would cement his status as the country’s most powerful leader in decades.
The congress will begin in Beijing on October 16 at a “critical time” for the country, the party’s 25-member Politburo announced Tuesday, adding that preparations were “progressing smoothly.”
That start date is in line with tradition — in recent decades, the party has always held its congresses between September and November. The highly choreographed affairs usually last about a week, bringing together some 2,000 delegates from across the country in a show of unity and legitimacy.
But this year’s congress is anything but conventional.
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