In China, a forbidden question looms: Who leads after Xi?

Behind closed doors in Beijing this week,

China’s top officials are meeting

to refine a plan to secure its strength in a turbulent world. But two great questions hang over the nation’s future, even if no one at the meeting dares raise it: How long will President Xi Jinping rule, and who will replace him when he is gone?

Mr Xi has led China for 13 years, amassing dominance to a degree unseen since Mao Zedong. He has shown no sign of wanting to step down. Yet his longevity at the top could, if mismanaged, sow the seeds of political turbulence: He has neither an heir apparent nor a clear timetable for designating one.