Unlike the United States, China operates under one-party rule and the Chinese Communist Party has been in power for over seventy years. During this time, party leaders have been bound by two-term limits. Xi Jinping removed the restriction in 2018 that effectively allowed him to stay in power for life. This March, he secured a precedent-breaking third term as China’s head of state.
Many say Mr. Xi has become China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
He also presides over a one-party system that many human rights groups and Western leaders call a dictatorship because it lacks an independent judiciary and free press.
Critics of Mr. Xi and the Chinese Communist Party also get censored online, while those who dare speak out risk detention off-line.
Grant Newsham, Ret. Marine Col. and senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy spoke on the dictator accusations about Mr. Xi.