The February 25 announcement that the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) has proposed a constitutional amendment that would remove term limits on the office of the presidency is arguably the most significant Chinese political and legal development in almost three decades, or maybe even four. It is a clear indication that Xi Jinping intends to—and, in all likelihood, will—stay in power beyond the two-term limit that both his predecessors adhered to, and therefore signals the ending of what one might call the “Deng Xiaoping framework” of Chinese high politics, under which lifelong rule by a single strongman gave way to regular retirement, rotations, and collective decision-making. At this point, it would be quite surprising if Xi retired even after three terms in power.