BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China has approved the removal of term limits for its leader, in a move that effectively allows Xi Jinping to remain as president for life.
The constitutional changes were passed by China's annual sitting of the National People's Congress on Sunday.
'As an important content of the amendment, the inclusion of Xi's thought into the country's fundamental law reflects the common aspiration of the entire Party and all Chinese people of various ethnic groups,' said Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the 12th NPC Standing Committee.
China had imposed a two-term limit on its president since the 1990s.
But Mr Xi, who would have been due to step down in 2023, defied the tradition of presenting a potential successor during October's Communist Party Congress.
Instead, he consolidated his political power as the party voted to enshrine his name and political ideology in the party's constitution - elevating his status to the level of its founder, Chairman Mao.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX