China's Xi to be named president, capping his rise Chinese Communist Party chief and incoming-President Xi Jinping, center, walks in with Chinese incoming-Premier Li Keqiang to attend a plenary session of the National People's Congress where delegates are expected to elect Xi officially as president at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Thursday, March 14, 2013. / AP Photo/Ng Han Guan BEIJING China's new leader Xi Jinping is capping his rise by adding the largely ceremonial title of president in an expected vote Thursday by the rubberstamp national legislature. His elevation to the presidency will give him the last of the three titles held by his predecessor, Hu Jintao. The move was expected after Xi was named head of the Communist Party and chairman of its military, positions of true power, last November in a once-a-decade handover to a new group of leaders that has been years in the making. The National People's Congress gathered Thursday in Beijing's Great Hall of the People for the vote for president, vice president and additional key positions.