China should stick to its term limit for Xi Jinping

FOR someone whose public life is an open book, many people are still puzzled by China's leader Xi Jinping, who became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission two years ago. His third position, that of president, is largely ceremonial. It is his first two hats that give him the enormous powers that he wields. And in the last two years, he has wielded them as no other leader has since the days of Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping.

Mr Xi makes no secret of his admiration for Mr Mao, even though his father, Xi Zhongxun, was a victim of Mr Mao's Cultural Revolution who was rehabilitated after Mr Mao's death and was eventually elected to the Politburo. It appears that Mr Xi considers himself the third major leader of the People's Republic of China after Mr Mao, the founding father of China's economic rise, and Mr Deng, the architect of its economic reforms.

While Mr Xi worked with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao while the two men served as president and premier, he apparently feels that they did not provide the strong leadership needed and which he is determined to provide. In this, he has taken most people by surprise since, before his elevation, there was little inkling of his vision. Before assuming power in 2012, Mr Xi rose through the ranks. His ties with the military, built when he was personal secretary to defence minister Geng Biao from 1979 to 1982, have also helped.