The CCP is a democratic centralist party. As such, factionalism has always been heavily discouraged. None of that is new.
Additionally the role of president, for which term limits were abolished, is not a particularly powerful one in China. The president serves at the behest of the national people’s congress standing committee and only has leeway to engage in foreign diplomacy. Xi likely has more influence over Chinese state affairs as general secretary of the CCP which never had term limits.
That said, it’s weird to see western media trying to read the tea leaves so they can write salacious stories about China’s palace intrigue when policy debates are happening out in the open. I’m willing to bet most western experts on China just don’t actually read any of the primary sources.
The CCP is a democratic centralist party. As such, factionalism has always been heavily discouraged. None of that is new.
Additionally the role of president, for which term limits were abolished, is not a particularly powerful one in China. The president serves at the behest of the national people’s congress standing committee and only has leeway to engage in foreign diplomacy. Xi likely has more influence over Chinese state affairs as general secretary of the CCP which never had term limits.
That said, it’s weird to see western media trying to read the tea leaves so they can write salacious stories about China’s palace intrigue when policy debates are happening out in the open. I’m willing to bet most western experts on China just don’t actually read any of the primary sources.