Chongqing party chief and political high-flyer Sun Zhengcai's downfall is a sign that the norms of leadership succession that came about during the Deng Xiaoping era and after are being changed. Some believe he was removed as Chongqing party chief as he did not show enough loyalty to Mr Xi. However, by removing Mr Sun, Mr Xi "wants to send a signal to party members that there is no fixed pass to the top", said Prof Zheng. Prof Zheng expects that Mr Xi will build a new succession system. So while Mr Xi can stay on as party chief for a third term in 2022, he cannot remain as president.

Source: The China Post July 26, 2017 07:30 UTC