One Last Step: China’s Xi Jinping Stands at the Precipice of Lifelong Rule

BEIJING—President Xi Jinping is counting on a gathering of nearly 3,000 lawmakers to show unequivocal support for his bid to govern China indefinitely by setting aside a decades-old safeguard against despotic rule.

The annual legislative session, which starts Monday, is set to approve a proposal to scrap presidential term limits. But anything less than a near-unanimous vote at the National People’s Congress could signal disquiet within the Chinese establishment and embolden critics of Mr. Xi in a country scarred by the disastrous...