Xi Jinping unanimously elected president, CMC chairman of PRC, leads China on new journey in unity, confidence
By Published: Mar 10, 2023 11:52 AM
Xi Jinping is unanimously elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
Xi Jinping was unanimously elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC on Friday at the ongoing session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).
The election result reflects the common will and unity of the whole country and also reinforces China's key advantage of political certainty and consistency that ensures the country is able to overcome challenges and realize Chinese modernization as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Chinese analysts said.
On Friday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, deputies to the 14th NPC, China's national legislature finished the process of electing the president and vice president of the PRC, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, as well as chairperson, vice chairpersons and secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee.
After a result of unanimous vote election being announced, Xi, newly elected president of the PRC and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, made a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.
Zhao Leji was elected chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Han Zheng was elected Chinese vice president. A total of 14 people were elected vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC. They are Li Hongzhong, Wang Dongming, Xiao Jie, Zheng Jianbang, Ding Zhongli, Hao Mingjin, Cai Dafeng, He Wei, Wu Weihua, Tie Ning, Peng Qinghua, Zhang Qingwei, Losang Jamcan, and Shohrat Zakir. Liu Qi was elected secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee.
They all made a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday morning.
The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), published an editorial on Friday, saying that Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, has been elected to be the president of the PRC and the chairman of the CMC of the PRC, and this reflects the common will shared by the whole Party, the entire military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.
This shows the "trinity" leadership system of the CPC, the PRC and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and shows the political advantage of the CPC's leadership and the institutional advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and it's good for reinforcing and enhancing the Party's overall leadership, and good for improving the leadership system of the Party and state, the editorial noted.
It's also "good for safeguarding the authority and the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi at its core, laying solid political and organizational foundation for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the People's Daily editorial read.
Experts said the elections fully reflected the operation of whole-process people's democracy, as the results showed that the Party, the people and all groups of society share the same will in electing top leaders of the state.
The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
Common will
The world at present is neither peaceful nor predictable, with the complicated geopolitical crisis in Ukraine which is continually causing problems and tragedies to all nations in Europe, and Western-launched unwise unilateral sanctions which have negatively impacted an ongoing food and energy crises. A series of hegemonic actions of the US have seriously interrupted the global supply and industrial chains, threatening other countries' rightful development.
Experts said these are deeply changing the world and these are also the reasons why Xi said at the report to the 20th CPC National Congress in October 2022 that "Our country has entered a period of development in which strategic opportunities, risks, and challenges are concurrent and uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising. Various 'black swan' and 'gray rhino' events may occur at any time."
"We must therefore be more mindful of potential dangers, be prepared to deal with worst-case scenarios, and be ready to withstand high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms. On the journey ahead, we must firmly adhere to the following major principles," Xi noted in the report delivered on October 16, 2022.
In the past decade, even under the difficult situation of dealing with serious pressures like the COVID-19 pandemic and all-out US containment, China has achieved a series of great goals in development and reform, such as it completed building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and overcame many internal and external challenges and solved many long-standing problems, such as a far-reaching anti-corruption drive that brings back a clean political environment and comprehensive military reform that greatly improves the combat capability of the PLA, analysts said.
These all prove that with "the establishment of Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the establishment of the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," which is known as the "Two Establishments," the Party can successfully lead the whole country to sail through winds and waves, so that China will firmly remain and uphold these advantages to begin its new journey toward realizing the Chinese modernization and the national rejuvenation, despite it is also likely to see more dangerous storms and waves ahead, said experts.
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday that "the leaders that were elected today have proven to be qualified and successful leaders with wisdom and strategic views in past 10 years based on the remarkable achievements they made. The election result provides confidence to the whole society, and also provides certainty to the international community as all nations will see the strong political stability and consistency of China."
The world, which is suffering from turbulence and uncertainty, also wants to see China, a major power with a second largest economy and growing international influence, be certain, stable and consistent, and the election result is providing what the world a clear answer from China, as China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting world peace and development, and to make its contribution to guiding global recovery, and to promote, reform and improve globalization when the globalization trend sees backlash due to the unfair and uneven order dominated by the West, Li said.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday that the Party's leadership and the strong leadership core of the Party and the state provide China a key and unique advantage to overcome challenges in a volatile global landscape, including to handle the fragmented globalization by reinforcing and promoting strategic partnerships with different countries around the globe and to deal with the extreme and all-out US suppression targeting China's development.
In the long journey toward the Chinese modernization and the great rejuvenation of Chinese nation, a stable and efficient political system and correct strategies and policies are crucial, but more important is we need right and qualified people to best use these advantages and to correctly implement the policies by actions, and also to handle emergent and unpredictable impacts and seize opportunities in the crisis, Wang noted.
In the future, China will keep marching with confidence and belief as the election of new leaders has brought new certainty and energy, making the whole nation more united and determined no matter what kind of waves and storms occur, experts remarked.
Xi Jinping, newly elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, makes a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
Congratulations from foreign leaders
Congratulations poured in from leaders of many countries around the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent a message to Xi, warmly congratulating him on his election as Chinese president.
The decision adopted by the NPC of China shows that Xi, as the head of state, enjoys high prestige and that the strategies he has formulated on promoting China's economic and social development and on safeguarding China's interests on the international stage have won the support of the Chinese people, Putin said, adding he firmly believed that with joint efforts of both sides, the Russia-China cooperation in various fields will continue to yield fruitful results
Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), sent a message to Xi on Friday, warmly congratulating him on his election as the president of the PRC.
Kim said it is believed that the traditional friendly cooperative relations between the DPRK and China will continue to deepen and develop in accordance with the common wishes of the two parties and peoples and the requirements of the new era.
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