President for life? Xi Jinping's power grab is not good news

For China's neighbours, such as India, the concern will be deep

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the news coming out of the People’s Republic of China: The Second Plenum of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in January approved the scrapping of term limits for the post of President and Vice-President. This is being seen as the official permission for the current incumbent, Xi Jinping, to stay in power as mainland China’s leader for life. For decades, since Deng Xiaoping reformed China’s polity and economy, the President of the People’s Republic has served two five-year terms before handing over power to a chosen successor from the next generation of