Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets the media following the 20th Party Congress in Beijing on Sunday. (Photo: Tingshu Wang/Reuters)
Eko Hot Blog reports that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has formally stepped into his norm-breaking third term.
He secured his third term as the country’s leader at the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) week-long party congress in Beijing on Sunday.
More than 2,300 delegates elected various leadership groups and gave Xi a new mandate over the party, in a break from decades-long tradition.
No other party leader besides CCP founder Mao Zedong has ever served a third term.
The CCP unveiled its Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top ruling body, which observers say was handpicked by Xi.
The committee includes Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi. They are all said to staunch Xi loyalists, clearing the path for him to rule with minimal internal discord or opposition.
Xi also revealed the new, all-male, 24-member Politburo, which for the first time in at least 25 years includes no women, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, some officials were removed from their positions, with two names raising eyebrows.
Hu Chunhua, one of China’s vice premiers, was once widely viewed as a candidate for top leadership but the 59-year-old is now no longer listed as a Politburo member.
Also, former Xinjiang party secretary Chen Quanguo is also missing from the Central Committee roster.
During Xi’s speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, he attempted to paint a picture of an open China willing to collaborate with the world.
He noted that his country cannot develop in isolation from the world, adding that the world also needs China.
“China cannot develop in isolation from the world, and the world also needs China for its development,” Xi said.
The Chinese leader stated that China had rapidly developed its economy and achieved “social stability” due to decades of efforts in “reform and opening up.”
“China’s door to the world will only get wider,” he said. “We will stay committed to comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, promoting high-quality development, and creating more opportunities for the world through our own development.”
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