By Oyintari Ben
President Xi Jinping of China has won a historic third term as head of the Communist Party, solidifying his position as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
After decades of elite power-sharing, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee elected Xi as its general secretary on Sunday for an unprecedented five-year term, firmly returning the nation to one-man control.
The official announcement of Xi’s third term as China’s president is scheduled to take place in March of next year, during the government’s annual legislative sessions.
A seven-person Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) headed by Xi, the CCP’s inner circle of power presided over by the party leader’s loyalists, was also announced.
As he led the group onto the platform at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to meet media, Xi unveiled the new lineup.
Li Qiang, the leader of the Shanghai Communist Party, followed Xi, making it likely that he will succeed Li Keqiang as premier when the latter steps down in March. Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi are newcomers; Zhao Leji and Wang Huning are returning members of the previous committee.
After being appointed, Xi expressed his gratitude to the entire party for their confidence in him and his team, and he pledged to “work tirelessly in the discharge of their duties to prove worthy of the tremendous trust of the party and the people.”
