(Newswire.net — March 9, 2018) —
The current president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping was elected to that position in March 2013, after being elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012.
Xi was expected to remain in power until 2023, after a ten-year two term run as president.
It was announced by the state run media agency Xinhua that the Party will be amending the constitution.
The previous constitution has been in place since 2004 and stats that both the President and Vice President “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.”
Even without maintaining presidency Xi would have been able to hold on to power as General Secretary of the Communist Party, since that position does not have term limitations.
With this new move, however, he is eliminating the possibility of future competition that a new elected president may pose.
U.S. President Donald Trump has previously made remarks in admiration of strong leaders, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
CNN recently obtained an audio recording in which Trump can be heard praising the move of President Jinping: “Xi is a great gentleman. He is now president for life,” and added “I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.”
The recording comes from a speech Trump delivered during a luncheon fundraiser in his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate.
Even though this was not an official public statement but instead delivered jokingly and met with laughs, President Trumps comments seem unexpected and have stirred much controversy.
Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative tweeted that Trump’s commenting on the situation is “the most un-American sentiment expressed by an American President. George Washington would roll over in his grave.”
U.S. presidents are able to serve a maximum of two four-year terms in office.
Liberals have been critical of Xi’s attempt to consolidate power, and Chinese political activists have expressed their disappointment in the lack of criticism from other world leaders.
Trump’s comments could be seen as welcome for Xi’s administration since the attempt of extending the presidency is a sensitive issue and no public discussion on the topic is allowed in China.