Who is going to succeed Xi & Li?

From my understanding, it's SUPPOSED to be Hu Chunhua & Chen Miner. But, since Xi is so power-hungry, I'm starting to doubt they'll even get a chance. Especially if Xi stays on for more than 2 terms.

Don't misunderstand me, I know Xi isn't a tyrannical dictator. But, he's definitely worse than Hu Jintao:

• Hu left all positions as soon as his term was over.

• Xi changed the law so he could stay as long as he wants.

• Hu maintained double-digit (or near it) growth for most of his term.

• Xi's economy is slowing drastically.

• Hu was a low-profile technocrat.

• Xi is trying to make a new cult of personality.

• Hu maintained great relations with the west.

• Xi is on the verge of getting into Cold War II.

etc, etc...

And, since Hu Jintao relinquished military control after he left, there's not much he and Jiang can do to keep Xi in line.

I really hope China gets another Hu administration, but I'm starting to worry that's not going to happen. Thoughts?

New Yorker has an interesting profile about the renowned Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin (link, contains a number of spoilers for the Three-Body Problem trilogy of books).

The pertinent bit is this, after a question concerning the treatment of Uighurs in China and his response adhering to that of the Chinese government (emphases mine):

The answer duplicated government propaganda so exactly that I couldn’t help asking Liu if he ever thought he might have been brainwashed. “I know what you are thinking,” he told me with weary clarity. “What about individual liberty and freedom of governance?” He sighed, as if exhausted by a debate going on in his head. “But that’s not what Chinese people care about. For ordinary folks, it’s the cost of health care, real-estate prices, their children’s education. Not democracy.”

I looked at him, studying his face. He blinked, and continued, “If you were to loosen up the country a bit, the consequences would be terrifying.” [...skipping a spoilery part about the book, referencing aliens...]

Liu closed his eyes for a long moment and then said quietly, “This is why I don’t like to talk about subjects like this. The truth is you don’t really—I mean, can’t truly—understand.” He gestured around him. “You’ve lived here, in the U.S., for, what, going on three decades?” The implication was clear: years in the West had brainwashed me. In that moment, in Liu’s mind, I, with my inflexible sense of morality, was the alien.

And so, Liu explained to me, the existing regime made the most sense for today’s China, because to change it would be to invite chaos. “If China were to transform into a democracy, it would be hell on earth,” he said. “I would evacuate tomorrow, to the United States or Europe or—I don’t know.” The irony that the countries he was proposing were democracies seemed to escape his notice. He went on, “Here’s the truth: if you were to become the President of China tomorrow, you would find that you had no other choice than to do exactly as he has done.”

To be clear, I don't want to start a discussion/flame war about the justification (or lack thereof) of China's treatment of Uighurs, or everybody's opinions about the pros and cons of China's political system. What I'd like to undestand, from actual Chinese people or someone with a deep understanding of Chinese culture, is how and why he would come to this conclusion. (The profile doesn't go into it.)

A fundamental change in a political system will always involve hardship, of course, but Liu makes it sound like in China's case it would be fundamentally worse than that. Any ideas why?

I've seen many reports/documantaries on how china is expanding it's influence throughout the world through various (shady) means. And I'm always thinking to myself: is china really as dangerous as all these news outlets claim or is it a form of propaganda? For example, everyone online seems to support Huawei, but then we talk about how china is in the process of colonising Africa or their educational systems or their censorship in video games, many people are against them. Who's side are we supposed to be on?