Chinese President Xi Jinping returns to his seat after voting during the third plenary session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 10, 2023. — Photo: MARK R CRISTINO/ Pool via Portal Chinese President Xi Jinping returns to his seat after voting during the third plenary session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 10, 2023. — Photo : MARK R. CRISTINO /Pool via Portal
Xi Jinping on Friday secured an unprecedented third fiveyear term as China’s president, a largely ceremonial role as he amplifies his influence as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who ruled for 27 years.
Nearly 3,000 members of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), unanimously voted for Xi, 69, as president in the Great Hall of the People in an election that saw no other candidate.
Xi was also unanimously appointed commander of the 2millionstrong People’s Liberation Army, a force that takes orders from the party rather than the country.
In another vote, thirdparty official Zhao Leji was appointed chairman of the National People’s Congress. The vast majority of the body’s legislative work is directed by its Standing Committee.
Zhao, 67, a remnant of the former party’s Politburo Standing Committee, the pinnacle of political power in China under Xi, has won the president’s trust as head of the party’s anticorruption oversight body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which is a AntiCorruption Commission prosecuted. Corruption probes that froze any potential opposition to the Chinese leader.
Former Shanghai Party chief and last member of the Politburo Standing Committee Han Zheng has been appointed to the ceremonial post of vice president of the state.