How the Chinese government spreads global authoritarianism

On the 17th March 2018, the Chinese president was sitting with his back to his party delegates, about to undertake the most important action of his entire life.

He got up from his red chair, walked slowly across the red carpet, with red flags towering over him, and carefully placed two red pieces of paper into a polished red box. Accompanied with melodic applause and marching music, he quickly looked up at the crowd of photographers, gave them his characteristic half-smile half-grimace, and returned to his seat.

His red papers would be followed by thousands of others, men dressed mostly in black suits with grey ties, some wearing traditional minority clothing, often followed by a nervous bow or a nod to the cameras. The result was announced a few hours later, with 2,958 for, two against, and four abstentions. And with that Xi Jinping became China’s first president for life, effective immediately, at a congressional session where most had been expecting him to announce his successor.