In Xi We Trust: The Centralization of Power in China
The 2018 abolition of presidential term limits was merely the most visible sign of a systematic consolidation of power that has reshaped Chinese governance.
On March 11, 2018, China's National People's Congress voted 2,958 to 2, with three abstentions, to abolish presidential term limits. The lopsided result surprised no one—but its implications were profound. Xi Jinping had secured the constitutional authority to rule indefinitely.
General Secretary, President, CMC Chair
Xi personally chairs
In anti-corruption campaign
Breaking the Collective Leadership Model
For three decades after Deng Xiaoping, China operated under informal norms of collective leadership. No single leader dominated. Power rotated predictably. Retirement ages and term limits constrained ambition. This system, while authoritarian, provided stability and prevented the return of Mao-style personality cult.
Xi dismantled these guardrails systematically. The anti-corruption campaign eliminated rivals and potential challengers. New "leading small groups" concentrated decision-making in Xi's hands. The 2017 Party Congress enshrined "Xi Jinping Thought" in the constitution, elevating him alongside Mao in the ideological pantheon.
Why Centralization?
Xi's defenders argue that centralization was necessary. The collective leadership model had become gridlocked, enabling corruption and obstructing reforms. Only a powerful leader could overcome entrenched interests, impose discipline, and navigate intensifying external challenges.
Critics counter that centralization creates new risks. Without institutional checks, bad policies persist longer. Information flows become distorted as subordinates tell the leader what he wants to hear. Succession becomes unpredictable, raising questions about long-term stability.
What This Means
Understanding Xi's power matters because it shapes how China responds to every major challenge—from economic slowdown to U.S. competition to Taiwan. Decisions increasingly reflect one man's judgment, risk tolerance, and worldview. China's trajectory is now inseparable from Xi's personal trajectory.
Read: The Ties That Bind →Historical Perspective
Xi's consolidation is often compared to Mao's, but differences exist. Mao's power was charismatic and revolutionary; Xi's is institutional and bureaucratic. Mao governed through mass mobilization and chaos; Xi governs through surveillance and control. Both, however, demonstrate how quickly post-Mao norms can erode when a determined leader chooses to challenge them.