‘No one will dare to challenge him’: China decree cements President Xi’s power and place in history

The Chinese Communist Party’s historic resolution could make Xi Jinping the country’s most powerful leader ever, reports William Yang

President Xi Jinping is turning China’s politics into a one-man show (AFP/Getty)

After a four-day closed-door meeting in Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) central committee has passed a historic resolution to consolidate Chinese president Xi Jinping’s power, a move that experts say could make him the party’s most important figure to date.

Previously, only two other Chinese leaders have used similar decrees to cement their unique position in the party’s history. Mao Zedong passed a resolution in 1945 to strengthen his authority over the party, while Deng Xiaoping did so in 1981 to criticise the Cultural Revolution initiated by Mao, thereby laying the foundations for his political and economic reforms.

The meeting is known as the sixth plenum, because it is the sixth of seven secret gatherings that top Chinese officials hold every five years to set their strategic priorities around security, the economy, and future governance plans.