Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Clockwise from bottom-left: Jiang Zemin, Song Ping, Zeng Qinghong and Hu Jintao "used their last bit of strength" to keep Xi Jinping from giving himself even more power. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Yusuke Hinata)
Retired leaders block path to lifetime leadership