BEIJING (Al-Jazeera) - Xi Jinping was handed an unprecedented third term as Chinese president on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country’s most powerful leader in generations.
Nearly 3,000 members of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People for Xi to be president in an election where there was no other candidate, CNA reported.
Xi, 69, also received unanimous votes for a third term as chairman of the country’s Central Military Commission.
Zhao Leji, 66, was elected as the new parliament chair and Han Zheng, 68, as the new vice president. Both men were from Xi’s previous team of party leaders at the Politburo Standing Committee.
The stage was set for Xi’s new five-year run after a change to the constitution in 2018 that scrapped term limits.
Changes to the country’s leadership take place every five years and usually closely mirror the reshuffle announced at the party congress.
Over the next two days, officials approved by Xi are set to be appointed or elected to fill top positions in the cabinet, including premier-in-waiting Li Qiang, who is expected to be named to China’s No 2 post, putting him in charge of managing the world’s second-largest economy.
Xi chatted casually with Li, who was seated to his left, as delegates deposited voting slips into electronic ballot boxes.
The election of state leaders by the parliament comes three months after tough COVID-19 policies were dismantled and a new wave of infections caused by the highly transmissible Omicron strain rippled across the country. Except for dozens of top leaders, all other delegates and staff wore masks.
Xi will make a speech on Monday before the annual parliamentary session closes, as China faces multiple challenges including an economy hobbled by three years of COVID-19 curbs and worsening relations with the West.
Earlier this week, Xi blamed the United States and the West for the difficulties faced by China’s economy, remarks unusual from him for being directly at Washington.