18 Oct 2017

Xi Jinping's hold on power invites Putin comparisons

From Morning Report, 8:10 am on 18 October 2017

China's political leadership is meeting for the Communist party's most important meeting in five years where President Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate his hold on power in a way that's unusual by Chinese standards. President Xi will be appointed for a second five-year term at the congress but China watchers believe he may be eyeing changes to the constitution that would allow him an unprecedented third term. Over the last five years he's assembled a coterie of loyal colleagues in key positions, bolstered domestic support through populist nationalist rhetoric and adopted an assertive foreign policy. The Washington Post's Beijing correspondent Simon Denyer tells us comparisons with Russian President Vladimir Putin have been drawn.