Why China’s 2022 Party Congress Will Be a Landmark

President Xi Jinping looks set to disrupt the transition of power in China by securing a precedent-defying third term as leader of the Communist Party at its 20th congress this year. In the runup, Xi has stressed such ambitious goals as narrowing the country’s wide wealth gap and more aggressively asserting its interests globally. In any case, he has few challengers: An anti-corruption campaign peeled off rivals over the past decade, and no one with the right age or experience has been groomed as a successor.

1. Why does this...