China’s Xi secures third term, stacks leadership team with allies

Chinese President Xi Jinping stands as new members of the Politburo Standing Committee applaud at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

China’s President Xi Jinping has secured a historic third term as the Communist Party’s leader, cementing his place as the nation’s most influential ruler since Mao Zedong.

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) elected Xi as its general secretary for a precedent-breaking five-year term on Sunday, tilting the country decisively back towards one-man rule after decades of power-sharing among its elites.