Xi Jinping re-elected as China's president for lifelong tenure

NewsBharati    17-Mar-2018
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Beijing, March 17: Days after the Parliament scrapped two-tenure limit for Presidency, Xi Jinping has been re-elected as China’s President for the second five-year tenure. He was also elected as the leader of the Chinese military and the head of the Central Military Commission.

On March 11, over 2900 deputies of the NPC have voted for the constitutional amendment for removing the two-term limit for President and Vice President proposed by the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC). 

The China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress has recently scrapped two-term rule for the President paving the way for Xi’s lifelong tenure. Originally Xi is set to retire by 2023 as head of the CPC, the military and Presidency following a two-term limit followed by his predecessors. He became President in 2013.

The two-term limit was adopted by the party after Mao’s death to ensure collective leadership to avert mistakes like the dreaded cultural revolution in which millions were killed.

Xi, 64, cemented his status as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao in the 1970s at last year's twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, where his name and a political theory attributed to him were added to the party constitution as he was given a second five-year term as general secretary. Xi is coming to the end of his first five-year term as president and is set to be appointed to his second term at an annual meeting of the rubber-stamp parliament that starts March 5. 

The NPC is expected to elect Wang Qishan, the leader considered close to Xi Jinping, as the Vice President and unveil a new government Saturday evening.

Wang is the most feared official in China as he carried out the anti-corruption campaign for the past five years initiated by Xi in which over 1.5 million officials including over 100 ministers and top generals were punished making it the biggest such crackdown in China’s recent history.

Except Premier Li Keqiang, all top posts including the entire cabinet besides Governor of the Central Bank will be new set of officials.

From India’s perspective for the new line-up of officials, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi was widely expected to be elevated to be State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of the country.

The elevation will entail him to become China’s Special Representative for India-China boundary talks. The post is currently held by Yang Jiechi who has been elevated to the politburo, the top policy body of the ruling CPC.

China CPC Communist Party of China Xi Jinping China President Communist