Ricerc@Sapienza

Focusing on domestic politics, this essay aims to analyze the main characteristics of the “new era” (xin shidai), an important keyword of Xi Jinping’s thought, which was formalized at the CCP 19th Congress, in October 2017: first of all, the absolute primacy of the Party, supreme decision-making authority on all important issues and the worrisome centralization of power in its apparatus.
A further characterizing component of the "new era" was the abolishing of Presidential term limits in March 2018, which marked the definitive end of the collective leadership system. Reversing the institutionalization process and breaking the accepted agreements for succession within the post-Tian'anmen leadership, this turn may have profound medium-long term consequences for the balance of élite politics in Beijing.
Moreover, strongman rule is another characteristic of the new historical phase: this authoritarian leadership, which gave rise to a new cult of personality, was firmly condemned by Chinese liberal press and intellectual circles