China's Communist party to hold congress set to cement Xi's rule

Xi Jinping expected to be given third term and be anointed as country's most powerful leader in decades

China's ruling Communist party will begin its 20th congress on 16 October, state media has reported, a meeting at which President Xi Jinping is expected to be anointed as the country's most powerful leader in decades.

The congress in Beijing comes as Xi faces significant political headwinds, including an ailing economy, deteriorating relations with the US and a strict zero-Covid policy that has accelerated China's inward turn from the world.