Chinese President Xi Jinping secured a historic third term as the General Secretary of the Communist Party on Sunday and promoted some of his closest allies, cementing his position as the nation’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party elected Xi for another five-year term, tilting the country decisively back towards one-man rule after decades of power-sharing among its elite.
After the election, Xi Jinping spoke to the press and said, “the world needs China”.
“China cannot develop without the world, and the world also needs China,” Xi said. “After more than 40 years of unflagging efforts towards reform and opening up, we have created two miracles — rapid economic development and long-term social stability,” he added.
In addition to this, Xi was also reappointed head of China’s Central Military Commission.
The 69-year-old 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.
His anointment came after a week-long Congress of 2,300 hand-picked party delegates during which they endorsed Xi’s “core position” in the leadership and approved a sweeping reshuffle that saw former rivals step down.
The 20th Congress elected the new Central Committee of around 200 senior party officials, who then gathered on Sunday to elect Xi and the other members of the Standing Committee — the apex of Chinese political power.
Some of Xi’s closest allies were announced in the seven-man committee.
Back in 2018, Xi abolished the presidential two-term limit, paving the way for him to govern indefinitely. Xi has also overseen China’s rise as the world’s second-biggest economy, a huge military expansion and a far more aggressive global posture that has drawn strong opposition from the United States.
Despite nearly unchecked power, Xi faces huge challenges over the next five years, including managing the nation’s debt-ridden economy and the growing US rivalry.