Xi Jinping has taken a third consecutive five-year term as party chief, making him the most powerful Chinese leader since party founder, Mao Zedong.
The men he’s picked for his Standing Committee are also all figures rewarded for their loyalty. There are no challengers against him now in the top tier of the party.
The Politburo Standing Committee is China’s equivalent of the presidential cabinet.
Analysts say getting to the top often requires not only a stellar political track record, but also deft maneuvering of internal rivalries.
Xi, 69, was also reappointed head of China’s Central Military Commission, keeping him in charge of the People’s Liberation Army.
He is now all but certain to sail through to a third term as the country’s president, due to be formally announced during the Chinese government’s annual legislative sessions in March, next year.
Sunday’s developments cement him as the most powerful Chinese leader since Communist Party founder, Mao Zedong, who ascended to power in 1949 until his death in 1976.
BBC