The son of a poet revered by former communist leaders, 65-year-old Ai is perhaps China’s best-known modern artist and helped design the famous Bird’s Nest stadium for Beijing’s 2008 Olympics.
But he fell out of favour after criticising the Chinese government and was imprisoned for 81 days in 2011. He eventually left for Germany four years later.
Ai said Chinese leaders “don’t care that much about the money issue anymore, they want to reinterpret the world order”.
“Not only China but also Russia, Putin also mentioned that. They don’t like the way the game has been designed by the West, which has many problems too.”
Xi on Sunday cemented his status as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, having abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, paving the way for him to govern indefinitely.
“To talk about the next five years or 10 years, this is a really imperious understanding of a state,” Ai said.
But a sweeping anti-corruption drive led by Xi since he became leader a decade ago has made it risky for him to step down, the artist added.
“For him this is dangerous – that means it’s dangerous for Chinese society,” he said.