In Beijing, a four-day meeting promises a "rare resolution" on Chinese history. It's all about the man at the top. Xi Jinping is being elevated to the same rank as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, China's other transformative leaders, with an eye to next year and the lifting of de facto term limits. Will he serve a third term and beyond?
Is it one-man rule for the planet's most populous nation? Where does it leave the ruling Communist Party? Whereas Deng's reforms included a transfer of power every decade and a clearer separations between government and party, Xi's model is clearly Mao.
How do ordinary citizens feel about a personality cult that includes putting the president's thoughts on curricula as early as elementary school? And how do they feel about the way their leader is steering the country – from flexing its muscle with Taiwan in the South China Sea to a zero-Covid policy that's all but shut the borders since the start of the pandemic?
Produced by Charles Wente, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.
