Putin wins 6th term: Xi congratulates him; only Stalin ruled Russia longer

hinese President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his re-election, saying Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to bring ties to a "higher level".

"Currently, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is at the best level in history, which sets an example for building a new type of international relations," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin won a landslide re-election victory on Sunday, extending his rule over the world’s largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.
Putin’s victory will take his political dominance of Russia to nearly a quarter of a century, until 2024, by which time he will be 71. Only Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ruled for longer. Putin has promised to use his new term to beef up Russia’s defenses against the West and to raise living standards.

China set to make Xi era permanent with sweeping legal overhaul

In his first five years, President Xi Jinping has seized control of economic policy, reasserted the Communist Party’s authority and sidelined potential rivals in an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign.
Now, he’s set to make the Xi era permanent.
In a two-week session starting Monday, China’s rubber-stamp parliament is expected to enact sweeping legislative changes that would allow Xi to rule indefinitely and give him greater control over the levers of money and power. The agenda includes repealing presidential term limits, creating a powerful new agency to police officials and possibly approving the biggest regulatory overhaul of the $43 trillion finance-and-insurance sector in 15 years.
Xi is also reportedly planning to use the annual meeting of the 3,000-member National People’s Congress to install allies in key government posts, including the vice presidency, the central bank governorship and dozens of minister-level positions. It’s unclear when exactly specific decisions will be announced.