bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Jun Mai

Mimi Lau

Xi Jinping on Saturday became the first Chinese state leader to take a constitutional oath, as the country’s president and head of its military. 
The ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the People, where three guards of honour goose-stepped towards the podium, as a copy of the constitution was placed before Xi. 
After the national anthem was played, Xi was invited to take the oath both as China’s president and chairman of the Central Military Commission. 
Next up to swear their allegiance were newly elected National People’s Congress chairman Li Zhanshu and Vice-President Wang Qishan.
Wang Qishan is China’s new vice-president after overwhelming show of support
Wang, a fan of American political television series House of Cards, punctuated his oath with a firm knock on the podium afterwards.
The show’s main character Frank Underwood has a habit of knocking twice on a table, which he once said was a sign of strength and resolution.

The South China Morning Post has reported that Wang, a seasoned troubleshooter for the Chinese government, is expected to oversee Sino-US relations in his new role.
The ceremony – which took place after Xi received unanimous support from lawmakers to serve a second term as president – was a symbolic move to show the significance of the constitution, which was revised last week to include Xi’s political theory, “Xi Jinping Thought”.
Term limits on the presidency and vice-presidency were also removed, and the Communist Party’s leadership role was spelled out – making it unconstitutional to challenge one-party rule.


Xi’s status as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong was on full display during the carefully choreographed ceremony in Beijing – it was only when the president took the oath that all members of the legislature stood, and his was the only oath accompanied by the military band’s drums.
“I swear to be loyal to China’s constitution and uphold its authority,” Xi said, his left hand on the constitution and his right fist held aloft.
Beyond term limits: the other new changes to China’s constitution
He also pledged to work for a great, modern, socialist country that is “prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful”.


The oaths were also a rare chance for the public to hear Wang and Li speak, even though they have both been key enforcers of Xi’s signature policies over the past five years.
Wang, once the party’s formidable anti-graft chief who has mostly worked behind the scenes, read out his oath in a gravelly voice, slowly but confidently. 
Li – who is Xi’s top aide and accompanied him on all of his overseas trips in the past five years – spoke with a heavy Hebei accent, mixing the third tone in Mandarin with the first. 
Xi Jinping, top cadres visit birthplace of China’s Communist Party in Shanghai
Government officials at all levels have since 2016 followed an unwritten convention of pledging their allegiance to the constitution when taking office, but last week it was written into the constitution as a requirement. 
Li Yuanchao, Wang’s predecessor and China’s weakest vice-president in decades, was not invited to Saturday’s session to receive a farewell from his comrades. But the former NPC head Zhang Dejiang joined the ceremony and shook hands with Li Zhanshu and Xi to the applause of more than 2,000 lawmakers.


Why ‘relaxing’ Beijing meetings are a thing of the past for Hong Kong delegates

Is China headed for a diplomatic crisis of its own making?

How changing seasons can mean life or death in one of China’s most polluted cities

So who’s really in charge at China’s central bank? New double-headed leadership team muddies the waters

China's Two Sessions 2018

President Xi Jinping is China’s first leader to swear an oath to the constitution

Xi leads senior cadres in new ceremony after National People’s Congress confirms his second term in charge

Wang Qishan swears in as vice President of China. The 5th plenary meeting of the First Session of the 13th National Peopleâs Congress (NPC) is held to elect the new leadership of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sat. morning, Mar. 17, 2018. 17MAR18  SCMP/Simon Song

Xi Jinping becomes the first Chinese leader to swear his allegiance to the nation’s constitution in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: Simon Song

News

China

Politics

Xi leads senior cadres in new ceremony after National People’s Congress confirms his second term in charge


China's Two Sessions 2018: All Articles

China's Two Sessions 2018: What's Changing