Behold, Emperor Xi

Over more than two millennia, the emperors of imperial China were the focal points of the state and of the public’s veneration, and the central figures in a Sinocentric system of foreign affairs. As the Chinese empire is rising again, so too is a new emperor. China’s current ruler, Xi Jinping, will likely be elevated to similar stature at the 20th Communist Party Congress in Beijing, which begins next week. These political gatherings, held every five years, are used to finalize the lineup of the party’s senior leadership, revealing to the nation and to the world the victors of backroom wrangling and brass-knuckled competition. This time Xi, the Communist Party’s general secretary since 2012 and the country’s president since 2013, is widely expected to deviate from modern precedent and claim a third term. That would put him in charge until 2027, but he could very well rule indefinitely.

If events unfold as anticipated, Xi will emerge from the congress as the most commanding figure in Chinese politics since Mao Zedong, who ruled almost unchallenged from his founding of the People’s