Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to serve for a third term after he was elected to the Central Committee by the ruling Communist Party on Saturday, PTI reported.
The Central Committee is the Communist Party’s highest organ of authority. It elects members of the Politburo, Standing Committee and the Central Military Commission.
Members of the Politburo and the Standing Committee will be elected on Sunday.
After a week-long Congress of the Communist Party, the committee retired several top leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, to make room for Xi’s allies, CNN reported.
Li and Wang are regarded as moderates.
The committee on Saturday also amended the Communist Party Constitution, granting more powers to Xi, the Hindustan Times reported.
A resolution to add “Two Establishes” and “Two Upholds” were passed to cement Xi’s core status in the party and to enhance the guiding role of his political thought.
China also adopted a resolution to oppose Taiwanese independence.
Beijing considers Taiwan, a self-ruled island, as a province that is to be unified with the Chinese mainland.
“[The Congress] agrees to include in the party constitution statements on... resolutely opposing and deterring separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence’,” the resolution said.
Ahead of the Congress, some protests erupted in Beijing, PTI reported. Banners were hung on overpasses of major thoroughfares, protesting against Xi’s zero-Covid policy and authoritarian rule.
The zero-Covid policy involves contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantines and lockdowns to limit community transmission.
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