BEIJING: Xi Jinping unveiled a new lineup of top Communist Party officials as he secures a historic third term as China’s leader on Sunday (Oct 23), state media reported, after a Communist Party Congress in which he cemented his position as the nation’s most influential leader since founder Mao Zedong.
The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party elected Xi as its general secretary for another five-year term, Xinhua reported, tilting the country decisively back towards one-man rule after decades of power-sharing among its elite.
His anointment in a closed-door vote on Sunday came after a week-long gathering of the party faithful in Beijing during which they endorsed Xi’s “core position” in the leadership and approved a sweeping reshuffle that saw former rivals step down.
On Sunday, Xi walked at the head of the group at the presentation event for the CCP’s seven-member Standing Committee, a position reserved for the party’s general secretary.
He is now all but certain to sail through to a third term as China’s president, due to be formally announced during the government’s annual legislative sessions in March.
“I wish to thank the whole Party sincerely for the trust you have placed in us,” he told journalists at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, promising to “work diligently in the performance of our duties to prove worthy of the great trust of our Party and our people”.
Besides Xi, the other members of the Standing Committee are Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, according to Xinhua news.
The 20th Congress wrapped up on Saturday after elected the new Central Committee of around 200 senior party officials, who gathered on Sunday to elect the Standing Committee – the apex of Chinese political power at which Xi sits firmly at the top.
Since becoming the country’s leader a decade ago, Xi has achieved a concentration of power like no modern Chinese ruler other than Mao.
He abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, paving the way for him to govern indefinitely.