Xi Jinping becomes China's president Only one of the delegates to the National People's Congress (NPC) declined to rubber-stamp Xi's nomination, voting against him. There were three abstentions and 2952 votes in favour. Mr Xi was elected by exactly the same margin to the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission, the body that controls the People's Liberation Army, completing the trinity of state, Communist Party and military leadership. "Now I announce comrade Xi Jinping is selected as president of the People's Republic of China," said Liu Yunshan, who was chairing the NPC. To loud applause, Mr Xi, 59, stood up and bowed to the delegates before shaking hands with Hu Jintao and walking off the stage. The outcome of the vote was never in doubt. Wags quickly noted that Mr Xi's margin of 99.86 per cent was slightly greater than the 97.62 per cent won by Bashar al-Assad's 97.62 per cent margin in Syria in 2007, but shy of Kim Jong-il's commanding 99.98 per cent in North Korea in 2009. Meanwhile, Li Yuanchao, an ally of Mr Xi who narrowly missed out on a seat on the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) last November, was elected to be vice-president. He is the first vice-president not to be a member of the PBSC since Rongyi Ren in 1983. A pundit for CCTV, the state broadcaster, said: "This election result reflects Chinese people's good fortune and their expectations."