Xi Jinping has screwed up.

His dreams of being ruler for life have been dashed because of two costly mistakes:

1 Covid Zero strategy, which has brought economic activity to a halt in major cities such as Shanghai.

2 Backing Putin, which has led to a spectre of secondary sanctions by the EU and the US. This threatens exports, a key growth engine for China.

Xi's source of power has been China's soaring economic growth. With this growth crawling to a halt, Xi is now in big trouble ahead of the 20th National Congress later this year.

Sure, it's all but certain that Xi will be re-elected for a third-term. But his mistakes have opened up room for rival factions to the point that he is unlikely to get a free hand in selecting members of the next Politburo.

Xi's iron grip has been loosened, his next term will be marked with greatly reduced power and influence. He will need all of his political acumen to navigate this difficult terrain.

Xi has two strikes now. A third one and he could be out.