In Pics: Xi Jinping elected for unprecedented third-term as China's president
Xi Jinping has secured an unprecedented third five-year term as China’s president as he tightens his grip as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Nearly 3,000 members of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), voted unanimously for him to be president.
AFP
March 10, 2023 / 17:22 IST
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Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese President on March 10, capping a rise that has seen him become the country's most powerful leader in generations. (Source: AFP)
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His appointment by China's rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October. (Source: AFP)
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Since then, the 69-year-old has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of countless people after its abandonment. But those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress (NPC), a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier. (Source: AFP)
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On March 10, delegates handed Xi a third term as president and re-appointed him head of the country's Central Military Commission in a unanimous vote. Beijing's Great Hall of the People, a cavernous state building on the edge of Tiananmen Square, was adorned with crimson carpets and banners for the landmark vote, with a military band providing background music. (Source: AFP)
A digital monitor on the edge of the stage proclaimed the final tally -- all 2,952 votes had been cast in favour of giving Xi another term in office. The announcement was followed by delegates' fervent declarations of allegiance to the Chinese constitution, in a demonstration of loyalty and unanimity. (Source: AFP)
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Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red, leather-bound copy of China's constitution. In an oath beamed live on state television, he vowed to "build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and great modern socialist country". (Source: AFP)
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China's close ally Russia swiftly offered Xi its "sincere congratulations" on his re-election. "Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations," President Vladimir Putin said in a letter to his "dear friend" Xi. (Source: AFP)
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Xi's re-election is the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from being a little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a rising global power. His coronation sets him up to become communist China's longest-serving president, and means Xi could rule well into his seventies if no challenger emerges. (Source: AFP)
Xi's bold ambitions for the country have translated into a domineering leadership style, with decisions reinforced by loyalists that have risen to top government positions during his decade at the helm. And having taken power during a time when the CCP's sway seemed to be wavering, he has worked hard to reverse trends that had threatened to weaken its centrality to Chinese society. (Source: AFP)
![Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red, leather-bound copy of China's constitution. In an oath beamed live on state television, he vowed to "build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and great modern socialist country". (Source: AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2023/03/1-china-jinping-reelection.jpg "Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red, leather-bound copy of China's constitution. In an oath beamed live on state television, he vowed to "build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and great modern socialist country". (Source: AFP)")
![China's close ally Russia swiftly offered Xi its "sincere congratulations" on his re-election. "Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations," President Vladimir Putin said in a letter to his "dear friend" Xi. (Source: AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2023/03/3-china-jinping-reelection.jpg "China's close ally Russia swiftly offered Xi its "sincere congratulations" on his re-election. "Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations," President Vladimir Putin said in a letter to his "dear friend" Xi. (Source: AFP)")
