Historic third term: China’s People’s Congress confirms Xi in office North Korea fires missile towards Yellow Sea

China’s People’s Congress has confirmed head of state and party leader Xi Jinping for an unprecedented third term as president. The 2,952 hand-picked delegates voted unanimously on Friday at their annual gathering at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to extend his term as head of state and military for another five years.

The parliament, which was not freely elected, also passed the largest government restructuring in a long time, which is designed to strengthen the second-largest economy for international competition, especially with the US.

At the party congress in October, 69-year-old Xi Jinping defied previously respected age and tenure limits and continued in a leadership role enshrined in the party constitution. With his sole rule, he joins state founder and revolutionary Mao Tsetung, who, however, had brought chaos to the country.

Also Commander in Chief of the Army

Xi Jinping was also confirmed as chairman of the Military Commission, which effectively mirrors the government-level Military Commission of the Communist Party, which he heads. He remains commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army. After the vote, two rows of honor guard soldiers marched through the hall in a goose step and placed the constitution on the desk, where Xi Jinping then took his oath of office to great applause.

Former First Vice Premier Han Zheng was also unanimously appointed as the new vice president. The 68-year-old former coordinator for Hong Kong and Macau left the Politburo Standing Committee in October but remains a member of the People’s Congress. Experts expect that Han Zheng, like his predecessor Wang Qishan (74), will also play a role in foreign policy.

Biggest government reshuffle in a decade

The nine-day annual conference, which will run until Monday, will see the biggest government reshuffle in a decade, with Xi Jinping’s close confidants in particular pushing forward. Former Shanghai party leader Li Qiang will be the new prime minister on Saturday. The 63-year-old succeeds Li Keqiang (67), who was not in Xi Jinping’s camp and is stepping down after two terms.

“These are not just loyalists who do whatever Xi Jinping says, they are also capable politicians,” said Nis Grünberg of the China Institute Merics in Berlin. “They are skilled professionals in many ways.” The American think tank Brookings believes that the fact that Xi Jinping has taken full control of the party and the state also creates areas of attack: “He and his hand-picked leaders must keep their promises. Xi Jinping will be praised for his achievements and blamed for his failures.”

China’s version of a parliament also approved the government reshuffle and voted in favor of the institutional reform plan. Given the pressure from the US, the aim is a better starting position in international competition and greater technological independence. The restructuring is also linked to job losses in government agencies: five percent of jobs are lost – the highest number since 1998.

There will be a new Financial Supervision Commission, which will take over a number of functions from the central bank. This is intended to better align the control of banks, insurance companies and innovative financial platforms with consumer protection. The Ministry of Science and Technology will also be reorganized and a separate national authority will be created to manage the increasing amounts of data.

From a Chinese perspective, the US is increasingly seeking to close China’s access to technology with export controls, sanctions and other restrictions. Xi Jinping complained earlier this week that the US and the West wanted to hinder China’s rise in the world with a “containment policy”.

“Given the international technological competition and the serious situation caused by external pressure to contain it, we need to further organize our technology leadership and management system to better coordinate our forces and overcome challenges in core technological areas,” the cabinet justified the restructuring. This will help China “accelerate to achieve high-level technological independence”. (sda/dpa)