The 5th Plenum is just about two months away, and the period before a Plenum tends to be fertile rumor season. The Financial Times published an interesting article speculating on whether or not Xi would add another title, perhaps the “Party Chairman 党主席” that Mao once held - Xi Jinping sets stage to resurrect ‘chairman’ title created by Mao:

An intensifying purge of disloyal Chinese Communist party law and order officials is setting the stage for President Xi Jinping to become party chairman and hold on to power beyond his second term, experts have warned…

The latest stage in his multiyear, anti-graft battle could play a similar role in concentrating his considerable power in the lead-up to the 20th Party Congress in 2022, said Wu Qiang, a Beijing-based independent political commentator. 

“It’s preparation to establish Xi’s total authority over the party,” Mr Wu said. “We cannot rule out that there will be further changes to the party charter or that Xi will get a new title to further em…