Beijing Elevates Military Overseer to Top Body as Xi's Fourth Term Looms

China's top leaders elevated the only remaining general on the commission that oversees the country's military to the Politburo, the top governing body of the Communist Party, on Thursday.

For many voters skeptical of concentrated power, the move comes about a year before President Xi Jinping is expected to secure his fourth five-year term, reinforcing concerns that the party is tightening its control over the military as it seeks to strengthen party discipline.

Critics of the party's direction will see the promotion as another sign that decision-making is being centralized in Beijing, with ordinary citizens' voices sidelined in favor of elite continuity.