Published : 15/11/2024

On November 15, 2012, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its 18th Central Committee's first plenary session in Beijing, where Xi Jinping (習近平) was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, succeeding Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and officially becoming the top leader.

According to the plenary session bulletin, there were 205 central committee members and 171 alternate central committee members in attendance, and members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection were also present.

A total of 25 members were elected to the Central Political Bureau, among whom Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang (李克強), Zhang Dejiang (張德江), Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲), Liu Yunshan (劉雲山), Wang Qishan (王岐山), and Zhang Gaoli (張高麗) were elected as members of the Standing Committee, with Xi Jinping also serving as General Secretary.

On the same afternoon, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the newly elected "seven Standing Committee members" made their debut as a group.

In his speech, Xi pointed out that the new central leadership has several "significant responsibilities."

The first is the "responsibility to the nation", which includes to "continue striving for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation"; the second is the "responsibility to the people", which includes to "firmly follow the path of common prosperity"; and the third is the "responsibility to the Party", which includes to "ensure that the Party supervises itself and strictly govern the Party".