Expert views: PRC constitutional changes

China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) has voted to remove presidential term limits, potentially allowing President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.

The NPC met from 5 to 20 March to vote on a number of proposed constitutional changes.

The change comes after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee announced proposed amendments to the PRC’s constitution. It was met with pushback in some quarters, including on social media.

There are further notable amendments, including the incorporation  of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” into the constitution. Further language highlighting the role of the Party and socialist values has also been included.

Other proposed changes deal with the consolidation and development of the United Front, building a “community with a shared future for humanity”, and the addition of the sentence “The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics”. To keep up with developments, check out NPC Observer.

Check out expert opinion on what the changes mean in the links below. New Zealand media are welcome to use the commentators’ analyses in their reporting.

Expert views on ...

• Implications of constitutional changes for China's domestic politics

• Impact of constitutional changes on China's international relations

• Impact of constitutional changes on New Zealand-China ties

List of China experts

• Anne-Marie Brady

• Geremie Barmé

• Jason Young

• Manjeet Pardesi

• Marc Lanteigne

• Nicholas Khoo

• Stephen Noakes

• Xiang Gao

• Xiaoming Huang

– Asia Media Centre