Asia

China's Communist Party raises Xi to symbolic 'core' status

Associated Press
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FILE - In this April 28, 2016, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the fifth regular foreign ministers' meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. China's Communist Party has elevated Xi to the position of "core" of the leadership, underscoring the overwhelming clout he has amassed on the back of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on dissent, the official Xinhua News Agency said late Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Iori Sagisawa/Pool Photo via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, in Beijing on Thursday, Oct 27, 2016. China's Communist Party has elevated President Xi Jinping to the position of "core" of the leadership, underscoring the overwhelming clout he has amassed on the back of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on dissent. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese leaders attend the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee held in Beijing on Thursday, Oct 27, 2016. China's Communist Party has elevated President Xi Jinping to the position of "core" of the leadership, underscoring the overwhelming clout he has amassed on the back of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on dissent. (Zhang Duo/Xinhua via AP) (The Associated Press)

China's Communist Party has elevated President Xi Jinping to the position of "core" of the leadership, underscoring the overwhelming clout he has amassed on the back of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on dissent.

The official Xinhua News Agency said late Thursday that a key party meeting this week called on all members to unite around the party leadership with "Comrade Xi Jinping as the core."

While mainly symbolic, the move of bestowing Xi with "core" status reflects his assertion of himself as one of the country's most powerful leaders in decades.

It was an accolade bestowed on past leaders including famed reformist Deng Xiaoping and ex-President Jiang Zemin but which Xi's immediate predecessor never attained.