One rising Chinese provincial leader lauded Xi Jinping as the Communist Party’s "greatest guarantee.” The party chief of a big coastal city urged officials to revere Xi’s "noble bearing as a leader and personal charisma.” A top general said Xi had faced down "grave political risks” to achieve the "revolutionary reinvention” of China’s military.
The orchestrated adulation that has carried Xi into 2022 adds to the growing certainty that he will secure another term in power at a Communist Party congress late in the year. In an era of global upheaval and opportunity, scores of senior officials have said, China needs a resolute, powerful central leader — that is, Xi — to ensure its ascent as a superpower.
But one great uncertainty looms over China, and it is of Xi’s own design. Nobody, except maybe a tight-lipped circle of senior officials, knows how long he wants to stay in power, or when and how he will appoint a political heir. Xi seems to like it that way.