On Friday, Xi Jinping was granted a third term as president of China, marking the culmination of his rise to become the country’s most powerful leader in generations.
After Xi’s five-year CCP leadership extension in October, China’s rubber-stamp senate appointed him.
Since then, Xi, 69, has faced extensive protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of thousands after its abandonment.
At this week’s National People’s Congress (NPC), Xi ally Li Qiang will be named premier.
On Friday, lawmakers unanimously re-elected Xi to a third term as China’s president and head of the Central Military Commission.
The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, a vast state building on the edge of Tiananmen Square, was decorated with crimson carpets and banners for the historic vote, with a military band providing background music.
A digital monitor at the stage edge showed all 2,952 votes for Xi’s reelection.
The statement was followed by delegates’ pledges of allegiance to the Chinese constitution.
Xi raised his right fist and put his left hand on a red-leather Chinese constitution.
“I swear to be loyal to the constitution of the People’s Republic of China, to uphold the authority of the constitution, to perform my statutory obligations, to be loyal to the motherland, and to be loyal to the people,” he said, promising to carry out his responsibilities with integrity and diligence.
In the oath, which was broadcast live on state television across the country, he vowed to “build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and great modern socialist country.”
Today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted his “heartfelt felicitations” to the president of the neighboring country.
He stated, “This [re-election] is a reflection of the trust placed in his statesmanship by the CPC (Communist Party of China) and 1.4 billion Chinese people.”
Premier added, “I am confident that China-Pakistan relations will continue to flourish under his (Xi) shrewd leadership.”
Remarkable rise
Xi’s re-election caps a remarkable rise from obscure party official to world power.
After his coronation, Xi could lead communist China into his seventies if no one challenges him.
Adrian Geiges, co-author of “Xi Jinping: The World’s Most Powerful Man,” told AFP that he did not believe Xi was motivated by a desire for personal enrichment, despite international media investigations revealing his family’s accumulated wealth.
“That is not his concern,” Geiges said. “He truly has a vision for China; he wants China to be the most powerful nation on earth.”
Tearing up the rulebook
China adopted a consensus-based, but still autocratic, type of government after Mao Zedong’s autocratic rule and the cult of personality.
According to that model, Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao gave up power after 10 years in office.
In 2018, Xi abolished term limits and permitted a cult of personality to foster his all-powerful leadership.
However, the start of his unprecedented third term comes as the world’s second-largest economy faces significant headwinds. Including slowing growth, a troubled real estate market, and a declining birth rate.
Relations with the United States are also at an all-time low, with disagreements over human rights, trade, and emerging technologies.
“We will see a more assertive China on the global stage, insisting that its narrative be accepted,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, in an interview with AFP.
“However, it will also focus on reducing China’s dependence on the rest of the world and making the Communist Party the focal point of governance, rather than the Chinese government,” he said.
“It is not a return to the Maoist era, but one that Maoists will feel comfortable in,” Tsang added. “This course of action is not beneficial for the rest of the world.”
