Trump praises China’s Xi

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump yesterday appeared to cheer on China's Xi Jinping for paving the way to a limitless tenure, while delivering a lighthearted address at a Florida fundraising event.

Trump seemed to jokingly muse over making such power consolidation moves himself, according to audio from the closed-door event at his Mar-a-Lago resort published by news outlet CNN.

"He's now president for life," the 71-year-old US president said, eliciting chuckles from the crowd of Republican donors. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great."

He garnered even more laughs when he quipped: "Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."

Though the US leader's comments struck a jocular tone, many on Twitter voiced concern over the prospect of an indefinite Trump presidency.

"Whether this was a joke or not, talking about being President for life like Xi Jinping is the most unAmerican sentiment expressed by an American President," said Democrat Ro Khanna, a California congressman.

"George Washington would roll over in his grave."

In Beihing, the Chinese sought yesterday to downplay the Communist Party's move to scrap presidential term limits, a decision that could pave the way for Xi Jinping to remain president for life.

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's rubber-stamp parliament, will vote on March 11 on constitutional amendments which include the scrapping of a rule limiting the top leader to two five-year terms.

NPC spokesman Zhang Yesui told a news conference that the move will merely align the presidency with the titles of Communist Party general secretary and Military Commission chairman, which do not have term limits.

"It is conducive to uphold the authority of the Central Committee of the party with comrade Xi Jinping at the core and also to unify leadership," Zhang said on the eve of the opening of the NPC's annual session.

Zhang revealed that the party's Central Committee proposed the constitutional amendments, which include adding Xi's eponymous political guidelines to the country's charter, in January.

But the decision was first made public on February 25 in a report by the official Xinhua news agency.

US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping leaving a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. President Xi Jinping's leap toward lifelong rule has largely been met by guarded silence in world capitals as governments try to predict how China's formidable leader will wield his newfound power on the global stage.