Xi Jinping gets third term, packs leadership with loyalists

A screen shows Xi speaking after introducing China’s new Politburo Standing Committee, at a restaurant in Foshan, on Sunday. Pic/AFP

China's Xi Jinping secured a precedent-breaking third leadership term on Sunday and introduced a top governing body stacked with loyalists, cementing his place as the country's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang followed Xi onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People as the new Politburo Standing Committee was introduced, putting him in line to become premier when Li Keqiang retires in March.

Also Read: China puts hold on proposal by India, US at UN to list Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Shahid Mahmood as global terrorist

All are seen by analysts to have close allegiance to Xi, the son of a Communist Party revolutionary who has taken China in a more authoritarian direction since rising to power in 2012.

Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney, said the result was a resounding victory for Xi. "All of his rivals, potential and real, have been forced out of the Politburo Standing Committee and Xi loyalists took their place. The new Politburo is an emphatic statement of Xi's dominance over the party." There are 25 seats in the Politburo of the Communist Party.

25
No. of seats in Politburo of the Communist Party

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever