Members of China's ruling Communist Party met for the 20th Party Congress, a leadership reshuffle that happens twice a decade.

In recent years, these meetings have seen a streamlined transfer of power: the convention is for the top party leader, having completed two five-year terms, to pass the baton to a carefully chosen successor. But this year, Xi Jinping is expected to smash that precedent, taking on a third term as general secretary of the party and pitching China into a new era of strongman rule and uncertainty over when or how the country would see another leader.