Xi unanimously elected for second term as China’s president

Xi Jinping was unanimously elected to his second term as China’s president and head of the military by the country’s rubber-stamp parliament on Saturday.
“All 2,970 delegates in Beijing voted to elect Xi, 64, as President and Chairman of the State Military Commission,” said a media report.
The vote was largely a formality after the legislature last Sunday lifted presidential term limits.
This effectively paved the way for Xi, the country’s most powerful leader since the founder of communist China, Mao Zedong, to rule indefinitely.
Nevertheless, the unanimous vote was remarkable even for the rubber-stamp parliament, which usually sees a handful of abstentions and votes against. The legislature has never rejected a proposal put before it.
Wang Qishan, Xi’s trusted ally, made a comeback to Chinese politics by being elected vice president with 2,969 votes in favour and one vote against.
Wang, 69, led the country’s powerful anti-graft watchdog for five years until his retirement from the top echelons of the Communist Party late 2017.
During his mandate, the anti-corruption agency punished more than 1.4 million officials including, critics say, Xi’s political rivals.
The vice president position is largely ceremonial, but it would allow Wang to drive the country’s foreign policy, especially US-China relations.
“Wang will have as much authority as Xi grants him,” said political commentator Deng Yuwen.
As Xi consolidated power during his first mandate, he has isolated rival political factions and surrounded himself with loyalists. Wang’s role is to protect the president from potential backlash within the party, observers say.
“For Mr Xi’s governance, his political alliance with Mr Wang is indispensable at present,” said political analyst Zhang Lifan.
Observer said that Wang would be among a new, stronger foreign policy team to be fully unveiled on Monday with the election of the cabinet.
Before leading the anti-corruption drive, Wang was vice premier in charge of economic issues and led trade talks with the United States and the European Union.
Known for his crisis-solving abilities, he will likely be entrusted with de-escalating tensions with Washington, which is becoming more hawkish over foreign trade.
The legislature also elected Li Zhanshu, a member of the powerful seven-man Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, as head of the parliament.
Additionally, the delegates approved the biggest cabinet reshuffle in years, which will see the merger of the banking and insurance regulators and the creation of new ministries.
The changes are part of Beijing’s ongoing efforts to streamline the government, avert financial risks and strengthen the Communist Party’s control over the state.