Beijing — Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader, could stay in office indefinitely after the Communist Party called for the removal of presidential term limits. Xi, who is also party chief and seen as the country’s most formidable ruler since Mao Zedong, has been president since 2013 and the 64-year-old leader would have to step down in 2023 under the current system. But the party’s Central Committee proposed deleting from the constitution the stipulation that a president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" of five years, the official Xinhua news agency reported Sunday. "I think he will become emperor for life and the Mao Zedong of the 21st century," Willy Lam, politics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said. "If his health permits, he wants to serve 20 years, which would mean until 2032 as secretary general of the party, and 2033 as state president," Lam said. The proposed change, which would also apply to the vice-president, will be submitted to leg...
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