"Now I announce that Xi Jinping has been elected president of the People's Republic of China."

 

　　Xi Jinping has also been elected as the chairman of the country's Central Military Commission.

 

　　Hu Jintao (L) congratulates Xi Jinping at the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2013. Xi was elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC at the NPC session here on Thursday. [Photo: Xinhua]

 

　　The 59-year-old is already the general secretary of the Communist Party of China and several national lawmakers have welcomed his leadership.

 

　　"It meets the popular expectations, and it meets the expectations of the Chinese people and the nation. It is a happy ending, because today we successfully elected our new president, and new military chief under the new leadership led by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping."

 

　　"We still certainly face lots of problems as China has been developing so fast, and many issues were brought up at the Congress. I believe we will smoothly accomplish various tasks."

 

　　International leaders have also congratulated Xi Jingping's appointment as president.

 

　　Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari says the confidence reposed in Xi's leadership by the National People's Congress was a testament to his hard work and years of devoted service to the Chinese people.

 

　　The Philippines government says it's looking forward to increasing trust and cooperation with the Chinese government.

 

　　The South Korean foreign ministry has also said they want to work with the new Chinese government for a stronger partnership.

 

　　Also on Thursday, Li Yuanchao was elected as the country's vice president, while Zhang Dejiang replaced Wu Bangguo as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.