Beijing — Chinese leader Xi Jinping was elevated to the pantheon of the country’s greatest leaders on Tuesday as his name was enshrined in the Communist Party constitution alongside Chairman Mao’s. The inclusion of Xi’s eponymous guiding philosophy for the nation cements his place as the most powerful Chinese leader in decades and suggests he could remain its paramount leader throughout his lifetime. Communist China’s founder, Mao Zedong, and the architect of market reforms, Deng Xiaoping, are the only other Chinese leaders to have their names in the document — and only Mao was alive when his was included. Xi, 64, presided over the week-long congress’s closing session where 2,300 delegates approved the constitutional amendment to include "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era". An official reading out the amendment said the concept would be "a beacon for the work of the party". The concept places a heavy emphasis on the party’s role in governing ...
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