Hu praised for voluntarily resigning from top military post

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- In an unusual twist to China's leadership transition, Xi Jinping took over both the post of Party chief and the top military post of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from Hu Jintao on Thursday.

Hu and Xi, now general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPC's Central Military Commission (CMC), completed an official handover of the Party's top military post at an extended meeting of the CMC held on Friday. Xi said at the meeting that Hu voluntarily asked for not serving the posts of the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CMC.

Xi became CPC Central Committee General Secretary and Chairman of the CMC on Thursday at the first plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

"Chairman Hu's important decision fully embodies his profound thinking of the overall development of the Party, country and military," Xi said at the meeting.

"The decision also embodies his exemplary conduct and nobility of character," Xi said, adding that Hu has "pushed China's military development one giant step forward based on achievements made under the leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong, Chairman Deng Xiaoping and Chairman Jiang Zemin".

Hu, in return, described his successor as "a qualified general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and a qualified chairman of the Central Military Commission".

"Xi worked for a while in the military when he was young and participated in military-related work when he served in local administrations," Hu noted.

We Recommend:
Video: CPC's top leadership meet press	People's Daily editorial to hail new CPC leadership	New CPC Central Committee elected
Will Obama 2.0 get tougher with China?	Japanese welcome in Beijing's marathon	U.S. must remain neutral in disputes: Clinton