Xi Jinping: Power, Ideology, and Global Influence Explained

Ask a dozen China watchers who actually runs the country, and one name keeps surfacing: Xi Jinping. The formal answer depends on which hat he’s wearing, but since 11 March 2018 the presidency no longer has a two-term limit. Understanding how that happened means looking at party structures, constitutional wording, and the parallel with Vladimir Putin’s extended rule.

President since: 2013 · Term-limit vote: 2,958–2–3 · Third term: 2023

Seven changes, one pattern: both leaders used formal constitutional processes to extend their time in office.

Is China officially a dictatorship?

China’s official vocabulary does not use the word the way Western debate does. According to a Model Diplomat glossary entry on the amended constitution, the state’s formal self-description is a “people’s democratic dictatorship.”

• The NPC vote on 11 March 2018 was 2,958–2–3 (NPR report).
• Al Jazeera’s coverage describes the NPC as a legislature widely seen as highly compliant with the leadership (Al Jazeera).

So the formal answer is complicated: the constitution uses “dictatorship” as a technical term from communist theory, while the practical reality is a one-party system with no competitive elections.

The implication: the label matters less than the mechanism. Call it authoritarian, dictatorial, or hegemonic-party rule; the term-limit change is verifiable in all three framings.

Who holds the real power in China?

Xi holds the party’s top job, the presidency, and the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission, a triple position that makes him the public center of the system. According to The Guardian’s 2018 report, Xi took the presidency in 2013 after already leading the party.

• The 2018 amendment was proposed by the CCP’s 19th Central Committee, according to Wikipedia.
• The NPC then passed it 2,958–2–3 (NPR report).

In that structure, the presidency is not the engine; the party is. The NPC and State Council implement decisions that were already settled by party bodies.

The pattern: formal procedures remain, but they function as a channel for decisions made upstream, not as a check on the leader.

How many years does Xi Jinping rule China?

Xi became general secretary in 2012 and president in 2013, a trajectory The Guardian’s 2018 report places at the center of his reappointment. By 2025, that is more than twelve years at the top of the party.

The original design from the Deng Xiaoping era capped the presidency at two terms to avoid lifelong rule, as ABC News (Australia) notes. On 11 March 2018, that cap was removed by the National People’s Congress (BBC News report).

• 2018: term limit removed.
• 2023: third term begins, according to Model Diplomat.

Because the 2018 change removed the limit rather than setting a new number, there is now no constitutional endpoint.

The implication: “how many years” is the wrong frame. The right question is whether any mechanism remains that can force a transition.

Are Xi Jinping and Putin friends?

“Friendship” is the framing used by state media, not a neutral description of the relationship. The more measurable pattern is institutional: Xi and Putin have both used constitutional changes to remove political deadlines.

China removed its presidential term limit in 2018 (NPR report). Russia reset Putin’s term clock in 2020 and signed a follow-up law in 2021 that allows two more terms (PBS NewsHour report).

• Both leaders share a common posture toward the U.S.-led global order and promote multi-polarity, a framing that creates a political bond even if personal warmth is hard to measure.
• Economic ties, including energy and infrastructure projects, give the relationship practical weight, according to state-media coverage in both countries.

The implication: watch the convergence of legal changes, not the handshakes.

Does Xi Jinping support communism?

In the official sense, yes. Xi has made ideology central to his mandate, championing “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” and presenting it as the party’s guiding theory (Model Diplomat glossary entry).

• His policies combine party control with state-led capitalism, including anti-corruption campaigns and tighter ideological discipline.
• The party’s constitutional text still describes communism as the ultimate goal, but the practical system is one of strong state capitalism under party supervision.

That is why “Does Xi support communism?” is a question about definitions. In Beijing’s official language, yes. In the Western sense of a classless society, the answer is more complicated.

The trade-off: by defining communism through party control, Xi can present a system with no competitive elections as the guardian of the revolutionary project.

How Xi’s and Putin’s power plays compare

Two leaders, two constitutional paths, one pattern: formal law is the tool, not the obstacle.

The implication: “constitutional” in both cases describes a process controlled by the incumbent, not a neutral check on power.

Timeline: Xi’s consolidation of power

• 2012–2013: Xi becomes CCP general secretary and then president (The Guardian report).
• 11 March 2018: The NPC removes the presidential term limit (BBC News report).
• 16 March 2020: Russia’s constitutional court clears the proposal to reset Putin’s term count (ABC News report).
• 2023: Xi begins a third presidential term, according to Model Diplomat.

The trade-off: legal formalities remain, but the competitive element of elections disappears.

Confirmed facts vs what’s unclear

The difference matters, because a system that can change its basic rules by a near-unanimous vote is fundamentally different from one where the rules constrain the ruler.

What the records say

The NPC vote on the 2018 amendment was 2,958 in favor, 2 against, and 3 abstentions.

National People’s Congress vote record, as reported by NPR

Russia’s constitutional court cleared the proposal to reset Putin’s term count.

Russia’s Constitutional Court ruling, as reported by ABC News

Putin signed a law allowing him to run for president two more times, potentially extending his rule to 2036.

PBS NewsHour summary of the signed law

The common thread: in both countries, the constitutional text changed through institutions controlled by the incumbent.

Related reading

• George Bush: Presidency, Controversies & Current Life
• Laurence Fox: The Actor Turned Political Firebrand

For another view of leadership and public power, these profiles place individual politicians inside larger institutional stories.

The takeaway

Xi Jinping is not simply a president who stayed too long. He is the product of a party system that removed the constitutional timer around his office while keeping the formal legal process intact. For Western analysts watching Chinese politics, the choice is clear: treat the constitutional language as real architecture, or risk underestimating how much the rules have already shifted.

Frequently asked questions