Freedom of Action

As #XiJinping moves to complete his consolidation of the Chinese State, the most "Critical Battle" may be for legitimacy

Xi Jinping's unsettling approach to governing modern China - Channel NewsAsia: Xi's move to end term limits is but the latest step in a series of measures to transform the Chinese political system, moving away from the consensus-based leadership model adopted after the Cultural Revolution. It will also make understanding what is going on inside the power structure much more difficult

Can China avoid sliding back into strongman politics as Xi Jinping reshapes charter in his own image? | South China Morning Post: While the Core Leader will have more freedom to achieve long-needed policy reforms aimed at debt and corruption, it also increases risks for Xi himself: “If power is highly concentrated in one person’s hands over the long term, then any time serious problems arise, as for example from the slowdown of the economy which is likely in the next few years, then the one person will have to accept responsibility for everything”

Fear-mongering over Xi's term-limit removal | Asia Times: Western apprehension over the change is misguided as it's aimed at strengthening Xi's ability to better effect domestic reforms. 'Xi has had some success combating corruption, reducing poverty and pushing back US “threats,” and thus is seen as the leader who could effectively navigate the difficult problems facing China in the years ahead. Corruption, though reduced, is still rampant. The demographic issue created by the one-child policy threatens to undermine economic growth. Improving the environment and structural supply reform (reducing industrial overcapacity) are easier said than done because of resistance by local governments and state-owned enterprises'

Xi Jinping and the grip of the party - Lowy Interpreter: More than anything else, the move removes the division of labor between the Chinese Communist Party and government bureaucracy, further undoing the Deng legacy. Whether the new model works as well as the old remains to be seen. "Under Xi, his critics complain, the technocratic expertise in the bureaucracy has often been sidelined in favour the diktats of the central party command. Quite apart from the threat of a dictatorship re-emerging in China, Xi’s critics see this latest decision has chipping away further at the ability to make policy free of crude politics"