Xi displays "core leader" status as he kicks off second term

Xi, 64, along with other six members of the Politburo Standing Committee, which reflects the collective leadership of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) since it was introduced in 1981, stood ahead of others yesterday when they made their high-profile visit to the birthplace of the party instead of standing along with them, a practice that was followed for long.

The once-in-a-five-year Congress of the CPC which concluded on October 24 elected the seven member Standing Committee which virtually rules the country.

The Congress endorsed a second term for Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader of China in recent years, and Premier Li Keqiang, 62 and elected new five members who represented different factions within the party, which is run on collective leadership principle.

The other five members of the Standing Committee are Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng.

Last year, Xi was conferred "core leader" status by the party which was bestowed on its founder Mao, his successors Deng Xiaoping and former President Jiang Zemin.

His status was further elevated by including his ideological thought in the party Constitution by the Congress, making him only the third leader of the 96-year-old party to be accorded such an honour.

Yesterday, in a significant move, Xi along with other Standing Committee members visited the party office, established in 1921 at Shanghai, where he displayed his "core leader" status.

A video clip by state television showed the six men standing in a row behind Xi, the "core" of the party leadership, facing a hammer and sickle as they repeated Xi's words.

"It is my will to join the Chinese Communist Party... carry out the party's decisions, strictly observe party discipline, guard party secrets, be loyal to the party.. Be ready at all times to sacrifice my all for the party and the people, and never betray the party," they said.

Yesterday's trip was Xi's first visit outside the capital since he began his second term as the most powerful leader Communist China has seen since Mao.

The video also showed Xi strolling outside the historic site with other members walking behind him.

Official media quoted Xi as saying that the aim of the tour was to revisit the Party's past - especially the history of its founding - to learn from the predecessors of the revolutionary times and their noble spirit.

The tour should also serve to throw light on the responsibility the current leadership now bears, and strengthen their sense of duty to fulfil targets and missions laid down at the 19th CPC National Congress, he said.

"Only by remaining true to our original aspiration, keeping our mission firmly in mind, and keeping on striving, could the Party stay young and live," said Xi who heads the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of Chinese military.

Unlike other countries, the military in China functions under the party and not under the government.

China revealed its new national police Communist Party boss today, amid reshuffles at the top of the country's domestic security apparatus after Xi started his second term in office.

Since his elevation last week, Xi has been appointing his supporters in key positions in the provinces as well as at the centre.

The latest appointment was of 63-year-old Zhao Kezhi as the new czar of internal security. He worked closely with two of Xi's trusted aides and has become the party secretary at the Ministry of Public Security.