Xi Jinping Re-appointed as China’s president for the third term

Xi Jinping has been re-appointed for the third term as China’s president. The political elite of China officially backed Jinping’s historic third term as president on Friday, cementing his hold over the country and making him the longest-serving head of state of Communist China since its inception in 1949.

At a ceremonial vote held Friday in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi was reappointed as president for a further five years by China’s rubber-stamp legislature. 

He received a unanimous 2,952 votes followed by a standing ovation. Several significant state officials were also appointed by the National People’s Congress (NPC), including Zhao Leji as the body’s head and Han Zheng as the nation’s vice president.

The newly appointed leaders all took a public oath of allegiance to the Chinese constitution inside the Great Hall of the People.

The NPC also adopted a comprehensive reform plan for State Council institutions, which included the creation of a national data bureau, a financial regulatory organization, and an updated science and technology ministry.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated Xi Jinping on his third term as China’s leader, hailing the strengthening ties between the two countries.

“Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin.

“Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties… and strategic cooperation between our nations.”

“I am certain that working together, we will ensure the development of fruitful Russian-Chinese cooperation in all sorts of different areas. We will continue to coordinate joint work on the most important regional and international issues.”

Xi’s re-election comes as no surprise, given that he is widely considered to be the most dominant leader.