The world’s second-largest economy is emerging from a COVID recession as diplomatic challenges increase, and on Friday, Xi Jinping secured a record-breaking third term as president of China at a parliamentary session.
In an election where there was no other candidate, the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp legislature, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the 69-year-old Xi in the Great Hall of the People.
Since seizing power a decade ago, Xi has led China on a more authoritarian course. Now, as his relationship with the United States and its allies has grown more antagonistic over Taiwan, Beijing’s support for Russia, trade, and human rights, he is extending his five-year term as president.
Domestically, China is struggling to recover from Xi’s zero-COVID policy’s three years of implementation, shaky consumer and corporate confidence, and sluggish demand for China’s exports.