Fuelling the speculations that he may be preparing for a possible retirement, Chinese President Xi Jinping is now beginning to delegate authority to key organs of the ruling Community Party.

His move has fuelled speculations that he may be laying out the groundwork for an orderly power transition or scaling back his role in preparation for retirement, a first in his over 12-year rule, according a PTI report.

Retirement rumours rife

Speculations arose after state-run Xinhua news agency recently reported that the powerful 24-member Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) in its meeting on June 30 reviewed a set of new regulations on the work of party’s institutions, the report said.

The meeting presided over by Jinping himself stressed that the regulations will further standardise the establishment, responsibilities, and operations of the CPC Central Committee’s decision-making, deliberative, and coordinating institutions.

Such institutions should exercise more effective leadership and coordination over major tasks and focus on planning, discussing, and overseeing major tasks, the Xinhua report said.

While the overseas Chinese dissident community in recent months was abuzz with speculation of a power struggle within the secretive and tightly controlled CPC, a China-based political analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity said the regulations on these party bodies could hint at preparations for Jinping‘s retirement.

“The rules may be set up to regulate the bodies because it’s a key time for power transition,” the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday quoted the analyst as saying.

Experts say otherwise

Other experts, however, averred that Jinping, regarded as the most powerful leader after CPC founder Mao Zedong, and as a leader for life, may be delegating some powers to focus on larger issues.

“It does seem that Xi might pay less attention to day-to-day details, which necessitates a policing mechanism to ensure that his policy priorities are still being carried out by lower-level officials,” Victor Shih, a specialist in Chinese elite politics and finance at the University of California San Diego, told the Post.

Xi also skipped the BRICS summit being held in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday. This is the first time since he became president that he will be missing the summit of the emerging economies. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is heading China’s delegation at the summit.

All of Xi’s predecessors retired after two five-year terms, while he continued in power with no term limits, earning him the label of president for life.

Analysts say his plan to remain in power or share power was expected to unravel before or during the next five-year congress of the CPC to be held in 2027, by which time his third term will end, the PTI report said.