Xi Jinping becomes China President for third term

China’s leader Xi Jinping has become President of the country for a historic third term.On Friday, delegates handed Xi a third term as China’s president and re-elected him as head of the country’s Central Military Commission in a unanimous vote.

A digital monitor on the edge of the stage proclaimed the final tally -- all 2,952 votes had been cast in favour of awarding Xi another term in office.
The announcement was followed by fervent declarations of allegiance by delegates to the Chinese constitution in a demonstration of loyalty and unanimity.

Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a cavernous state building on the edge of Tiananmen Square, was adorned with crimson carpets and banners for the landmark vote, with a military band providing background music.

The appointment by China’s rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party in October.

Since then, the 69-year-old Xi has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of countless people after its abandonment.

Those issues have been avoided at this week’s National People’s Congress (NPC), a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier.