The point is that the goal is far enough into the future that the person making it can't be held accountable for failing to meet it.

If Xi had said "the CCP is illegitimate unless it takes Taiwan by 2025", he would be at real risk of being replaced in 2026. Anyone who opposed him (or just wanted power) would have a perfect reason to replace him.

When Xi makes a goal with a "deadline" he won't live to see, he takes no risk of personally failing to meet the goal. If his successor misses the deadline, he can say things changed, Xi failed to consider factors X,Y,Z, etc.

> If his successor misses the deadline, he can say things changed, Xi failed to consider factors X,Y,Z, etc.

That's not how the CCP operates though.

They are not a country where the puppets matter so much, like in most of the western countries. You would very very rarely see a leader being critical of their predecessor even if they are changing policies (which Xi Jinping definitely did). Because they are the same party and thus they are attacking themselves. The party is really more important than whoever happens to be at the top. The party is always right. Even when the party is wrong. Which it is not because it's always right.

No, if this promise disappears it will be silently. Never to be mentioned again, or else. It just never happened.