The annual conference, which runs until Monday, is expected to witness the biggest Chinese government reshuffle in a decade, with President Xi’s closest confidants in particular on stage. In 2018, the National People’s Congress removed the maximum two-term limit for an incumbent president, allowing Xi to be president for life.
The appointment by the Chinese parliament comes after he spent another five years in October at the head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the military, the two most important leadership positions in Chinese politics.
Reforms
China’s National People’s Congress also today approved reforms to government institutions announced earlier this week, including a major overhaul of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The new reforms also include the establishment of a financial regulatory body and a national data agency.
New dolls
At the beginning of China’s new political mandate, former vice premier Han Zheng was also elected as the new deputy prime minister and Zhao Leji, the former head of the party’s anti-corruption committee, as the new parliament speaker. Both are members of China’s highest political decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee. The elections, which took place in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, lasted about an hour.
Beijing also unveiled an economic growth target of “about five percent” and an increase in defense spending during the parliamentary session. Xi will speak on Monday before the close of the annual parliamentary session as China faces several challenges, including an economy hampered by three years of austerity and deteriorating relations with the West.