Xi Jinping has taken the center stage as China's undisputed paramount leader. The National People's Congress this week confirmed Xi as the new state president and chairman of the State Central Military Commission, making him the Communist party chief, head of state and commander-in-chief. This completes the handover of power from Hu Jintao, 70, who ruled China for 10 years, to the 59-year-old Xi, who was announced as the country's presumptive leader last November. Conventional wisdom had it that Xi would be a weak leader because he had not been hand-picked by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, as had Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.
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Xi Jinping endorsed as Chinese president in leadership handover
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So far Xi has taken steps to set him apart from predecessor Hu Jintao
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Pledged that his government would "strive to achieve the Chinese dream"
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Analyst: "He has surprising credibility and abundant political capital"
"The only reform in the pipeline is administrative -- the streamlining of the @placeholder cabinet, positive results likely but inconclusive."