Xi Jinping secures historic third term as China’s president

March 10, 2023 9:09 am

Xi Jinping has been endorsed for a momentous third term as the president of China by the country’s parliament.

The 69-year-old secured the precedent-breaking five-year term during a parliament session on Friday.

He received unanimous approval from the 2,952 members of the National People’s Congress (NPC) present.

The development makes Xi, who came to power in 2013, the longest-serving head of state of Communist China since its establishment in 1949.

The power of the office of the president is largely ceremonial. The real control of the Chinese government rests with the head of the Communist Party and Central Military Commission (CMC).

Xi currently holds both positions.

He begins his second decade of power amid a broader reshuffle of leadership roles in the state council, China’s central government, and other organisations to consolidate his control of the country’s politics.

The naming of various ministers and a premier of the country is expected in the next couple of days.

Xi is expected to fill the incoming cabinet with his loyalists, including Li Qiang, who is tipped to serve as his number two.

In other votes by the NPC, Han Zheng was confirmed as the new vice-president while Zhao Leji was named the new parliament chair.

Both men were from Xi’s previous team of party leaders at the Politburo Standing Committee.