China’s Xi gains unprecedented third term as president

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping gained an unprecedented third term as president of the country on Friday.

Xi was widely expected to stay on as president in this month’s largely ceremonial parliamentary meeting, known as the “Two Sessions.” The annual gathering marks the meetings of an advisory group and a legislature, the National People’s Congress.

Delegates to the congress on Friday also formally reappointed Xi as chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Xi rose through China’s political ranks, becoming president in 2013 and abolishing term limits in 2018.