Xi Jinping of China has secured a historic third term as their country’s leader on Sunday, October 23 and promoted some of his closest Communist Party allies. This move has cemented his position as the nation’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Xi was elected as the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party for another five-year term.
“I wish to thank the whole party sincerely for the trust you have placed in us,” Xi told journalists at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People after the closed-door vote was announced.
He promised to “work diligently in the performance of our duties to prove worthy of the great trust of our party and our people.”
Xi was also reappointed head of China’s Central Military Commission.
His selection of Xi 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 Standing Committee — the apex of Chinese political power.
Some of Xi’s closest allies were also announced in the seven-man committee.
At the age of 69, Xi Jinping is now 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 2023.
