I’ve thought about this back a few years ago with the constitution rewrite. Xi’s third term was practically guaranteed at that time barring a coup.

Term limits are definitely not bullshit. They are immensely useful in limiting the powers of a leader, which in general is good for the country. Deng Xiaoping wrote term limits into the constitution so that no one after him will hold power for too long, increasing the risk of them doing too much harm.

Indeed, Chinese leaders are pulled through the ranks, and only those with immaculate cv’s have a chance at holding the ultimate office, but power corrupts, and extreme power extremely corrupts. They can keep their vision in sight for 10 years, but after numerous decades they could lose themselves and become tired, and hence become corrupt, indulgent, and short sighted. Take the Tang dynasty emperor Li Longji. He did a wonderful job at the start of his reign, improving the lives of many citizens and bringing the country to another level (kaiyuan era). But then he lost that drive and listened to music all day and during the tianbao era lots of bad things happened as a result.

Another thing is term limits help force retirement at a sensible age. I myself have no problem with Xi’s third term, as he is doing great and there is a lot of stuff he hasn’t finished yet and which are extremely beneficial to the country. But if he takes a fourth term, he will be old. Really old. Look how Biden is doing. Look at how confused Hu Jintao looks right now. People like that need to make way for the next generation, but without limits in place they likely won’t release their power, especially if they are old and confused, especially if power has corrupted them for quite a while.

I don’t know about you or others, but I definitely know myself. When I go to stuff like recreational skating, I have fun and then skate until I collapse, unless there is a time limit and I get kicked out after 2 hours. Is it good for me to overexert myself, causing blisters and muscle aches and stuff? Definitely not, but at that moment I’m just so caught up I don’t want to leave. Just one more lap, try one more thing. Sure I have shit self control, but I’m sure Xi Jinping feels the same way when he eventually thinks about leaving office.

When we are kids, are parents drag us away. Adults are expected to exert more self control, but we might be able to do so for normal things, but immense political power is to the grown man as halloween candy is to the child. Self control at that level is way too much to ask; after all our leaders are still human, not demigods.

Of course de facto term limits could be imposed. A retirement age perhaps (Xi is ignoring the 67 retirement tradition so something more enforceable). Since it is unlikely someone young makes it to party secretary then a suitable retirement age effectively limits their term length.