Xi Jinping has been handed an extraordinary third term as president, crowned a rise that has seen him become China’s high-ranked leader.
According to News Agencies, the appointment by China’s rubber-stamp parliament comes after he was handed another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the military the two more significant leadership positions in Chinese politics in October last year.
In the oath telecasted live on state television across the nation, he vowed to “build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and great modern socialist country”.
Since then, 69-year-old Xi has faced challenges including mass protests over his zero-Covid policy and its subsequent abandonment that saw many people die.
The lawmakers have focused instead on a sweeping revamp of Beijing’s science ministry and tech capabilities in the face of what one NPC deputy described as foreign attempts at “limitation and crackdown” of the country’s rise.
The body on Friday passed reforms to government institutions unveiled earlier this week, including a sweeping overhaul of the country’s science and technology ministry in the face of what one NPC deputy described as foreign attempts at “containment and suppression” of the country’s rise. New reforms also included the formation of a financial regulatory body and national data bureau.
The beginning of China’s new political term also saw former vice-premier Han Zheng elected as its new vice-president and Zhao Leji, former chief of the party’s top anti-corruption commission, as the new parliamentary chair.
Both are members of China’s highest political decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee. The election process, carried out at the Great Hall of the People at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, lasted around an hour.
Beijing also unveiled during the parliamentary meeting a growth goal of about 5 percent one of its lowest in decades as well as a modest increase in defense spending.
Xi’s re-election is the culmination of a remarkable rise from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower.
For decades China scarred by the dictatorial reign and cult of personality of founding leader Mao Zedong has eschewed one-man rule in favour of a more consensus-based, but still autocratic, leadership.
Read Also:Qin Gang: China-US Relationship has Diverged in Recent Days
That model imposed term limits on the largely ceremonial role of the presidency, with Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquishing power after 10 years in office.
His coronation this week sets him up to become modern China’s longest-serving head of state, and will mean Xi will rule well into his seventies and – if no challenger emerges – even longer.
Read Also:China Sees Thriving Demand for Wedding Services
But the beginning of his unprecedented third term leading China comes as the world’s second-largest economy faces major headwinds, from slowing growth and a troubled real estate sector to a declining birth rate.
Relations with the United States are also at a low not seen in decades, with the powers sparring over everything from human rights to trade and technology.
Read Also:Chinese Ice City Attracts Global Visitors with Winter Wonderland
In a speech to delegates at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which runs alongside the NPC this week, Xi criticized Washington’s “containment, encirclement and suppression of China”.
China, he said, must “have the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape”.
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 curbs and worsening relations with the West.
Subscribe to our You Tube channel at Switch TV.
