Xi in control at China Congress, as ex-president removed

The closing ceremony for China's five-yearly Communist Party Congress held in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, with President Xi Jinping likely to seal an unprecedented third term in power.Delegates vote to endorse Xi's "work report" delivered at the Congress's opening last Sunday and rubber-stamped a resolution on the Party's constitution. IMAGES

President Xi Jinping (R) was set to emerge from the event as party leader for an unprecedented third term

Chinese President Xi Jinping locked in support for a historic third term in power at the Communist Party's Congress on Saturday, but the dramatic removal of his predecessor from the event stole the headlines.

At the end of the week-long gathering in Beijing, China's ruling party approved a sweeping reshuffle that saw a number of top officials -- including Premier Li Keqiang -- step down, allowing Xi to appoint new allies.

However, in an unexpected move that punctured the proceedings at the Great Hall of the People, former leader Hu Jintao was led out of the closing ceremony.

State media reported late Saturday that Hu was "not feeling well" when he was removed.

"When he was not feeling well during the session, his staff, for his health, accompanied him to a room next to the meeting venue for a rest. Now, he is much better."

Delegates then approved a call obliging all party members to "uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole", according to a unanimously passed resolution on changes to the party charter.

This will allow Xi to sail through to a third term as China's president, due to be announced during the government's annual legislative sessions in March.

A list of officials in the group revealed that four out of seven members of the party's Standing Committee -- the apex of power -- would retire.

Han and Li Zhanshu were widely expected to step down, having surpassed the informal age limit of 68 for Politburo-level officials -- a requirement not extended to 69-year-old Xi.

Other high-profile Communist Party top brass absent from the new Central Committee include high-ranking diplomat Yang Jiechi and economic tsar Liu He.

Analysts were closely watching for whether the party charter would be amended to enshrine "Xi Jinping Thought" as a guiding philosophy, a move that would put Xi on a par with Mao Zedong.

Xi previously abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, paving the way for him to rule indefinitely.

"Xi's power will be akin to that of the dictator of China, and there will be next to no scope for anyone to advise him to attempt course correction," said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

Delegates also on Saturday enshrined in the party's constitution opposition to Taiwanese independence. Beijing has always pledged to re-take the self-ruled democratic island, by force if necessary.

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