Xi awarded 3rd term as China’s president, extending rule

BEIJING (AP) — Xi Jinping has been awarded a third five-year term as China’s president, adding to signs he might stay in power for life at a time of severe economic challenges and rising tensions with the U.S. and others. Xi’s unanimous endorsement Friday by the ceremonial National People’s Congress was a foregone conclusion. During his two terms in office, Xi has sidelined potential challengers and filled the top ranks of the Communist Party with loyalists. He broke with tradition in October to give himself a third five-year term as party leader. His intent to stay in power was presaged when a two-term limit on the presidency was deleted from the Chinese Constitution. Xi was also unanimously named commander of the People’s Liberation Army.