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Matt Ho

China’s legislature formally endorsed Xi Jinping’s second five-year presidential term on Saturday, and voted in Wang Qishan as the country’s new vice-president.
It followed the National People’s Congress a week ago approving a change to the constitution to remove term limits on both the presidency and vice-presidency.
The political comeback of Wang – who stepped down from the ruling Communist Party’s top echelon and his position as head of its graft watchdog in October – confirmed a South China Morning Post report in December. 
A total of 2,969 people voted to elect him vice-president, with only one voting against.
The National People’s Congress also unanimously confirmed Xi’s second term, with 2,970 votes in favour.


Li Zhanshu, who was Xi’s chief of staff in his first term, also received a unanimous vote in favour of him becoming chairman of the national legislature.
Will Wang Qishan’s new job become a problem for the Communist Party?
Sources have said Wang is expected to be given a portfolio covering China’s ambitious global affairs agenda, including handling rocky relations with the United States. 
With a trade war looming between the US and China, Wang, 69, will have to draw on his experience as a problem solver for the job.
One world, two empires: is China-US conflict inevitable?
The exact role he will play in relation to Xi, who is now the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, and other members of the new all-star foreign policy team could also be of interest.
Although Wang no longer holds a senior rank within the party, as vice-president he will join its foreign affairs leading group in charge of policymaking, which is headed by Xi.


He will also work with other party leaders with extensive foreign affairs experience – including Politburo Standing Committee members Wang Yang and Wang Huning, and Politburo member Yang Jiechi.
Wang Yang takes the helm of China’s top political advisory body
At Saturday morning’s meeting, NPC legislators also approved a plan to overhaul the central government structure, aiming to cut bureaucracy, improve efficiency and end turf wars.
They also confirmed Xi as head of the state’s nominal military ruling commission, which is almost certain to mirror the party’s top brass line-up.
Past votes for vice-presidents:
Li Yuanchao (2013)
For: 2,839 Against: 80 Abstentions: 37
Xi Jinping (2008)
For: 2,919 Against: 28 Abstentions: 17
Zeng Qinghong (2003)
For: 2,578 Against: 177 Abstentions: 190


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

Xi Jinping gets second term, with ally Wang Qishan as vice-president

Wang Qishan (left) shakes hands with President Xi Jinping after being voted in as China’s new vice-president. Photo: Simon Song

Will Wang Qishan’s new job become a problem for the Communist Party?

Xi Jinping is expected to install his trusted ally as vice-president, but the question is how he will exercise real power without a senior party position

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and former president Jiang Zemin (R) attend the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 24, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping's name was added to the Communist Party's constitution at a defining congress, elevating him alongside Chairman Mao to the pantheon of the country's founding giants. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

(FILES) This file photo dated 03 March, 1998 shows then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin (C) greeting Vice President Rong Yiren (L) during the opening session of the Ninth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Rong Yiren, the former Chinese vice president nicknamed the "Red Capitalist" responsible for ushering into the country tens of billions of dollars of foreign capital, has died aged 89, state press said 27 October 2005. AFP PHOTO/FILES/GOH Chai Hin

Wang Qishan, China's former anti-corruption czar and an official regarded as Chinese President Xi Jinping's right-hand man, attends the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Monday, March 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Premier Li Keqiang, right, stand as Wang Qishan, the retired head of China's anti-corruption body arrives for a plenary session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign stands to gain a major boost as the ceremonial legislature moves to establish a powerful new agency with authority over vast numbers of workers in the public sector. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Xi Jinping gets second term, with ally Wang Qishan as vice-president

Only one vote against former anti-graft tsar and unanimous support for Xi