NPR

In Break With Precedent, No Heir Apparent For China's Xi Jinping

Normally at this stage in a Chinese president's tenure, a successor would be obvious. But not for President Xi Jinping. That has left to speculation he might want to hold onto power past 2022.
New members of the Politburo Standing Committee (from left) Han Zheng, Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang and Zhao Leji stand together at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Wednesday. / Ng Han Guan / Shutterstock.com

There was only one thing missing from the newly anointed leadership lineup announced at the close of China's Communist Party Congress on Wednesday: an obvious successor for President Xi Jinping.

Xi, as expected, received another five-year term. But normally at this

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