Donald Trump praises Xi Jinping over move to end term limit ... ‘maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday’
But Beijing says it doesn’t want to export its governance model or ask other countries to follow its practices
Beijing does not intend to export its governance model or ask other countries to follow its lead, a government official told media on Sunday, hours after US President Donald Trump praised Xi Jinping over a move to scrap the presidential term limit.
While the Communist Party’s proposal to remove the limit of two five-year terms – meaning Xi could stay in power indefinitely – has sparked criticism and fears of a return to strongman politics, Trump said he was fine with the idea. He even suggested the United States could “give that a shot someday”.
“He’s now president for life, president for life. And he’s great,” Trump said, according to audio of excerpts of Trump’s remarks at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida aired by CNN.
“And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday,” Trump said to cheers and applause from supporters.
But for Beijing, Trump’s praise is not needed.
“China will walk its own way. We will neither import foreign models nor export our own model – and we will not ask other countries to copy our practices,” Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the National People’s Congress and former Chinese ambassador to the US, told reporters in Beijing.