BEIJING: Xi Jinping's becoming the President of China for the third time in a row seems almost certain. On Saturday, he was "elected" a member of the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). At the same time, the names of many top leaders including Prime Minister Li Qing are missing from the list of members of this committee, making major changes in the top leadership. The General Conference (Congress) of the CPC, which is held once in five years, ended on Saturday with the election of 205 regular and 171 alternate members of the central committee.

According to media reports, Xi Jinping has been elected as a member of the Central Committee. The Central Committee will meet on Sunday to elect a 25-member Political Bureau' and it (Political Bureau) will elect seven or more members of the Standing Committee to govern the country. The Standing Committee will elect the General Secretary, who will lead the party and the country.

Observers said Jinping's "election" to the central committee has determined that he is on his way to becoming general secretary. Jinping is set to get a record third term and is likely to remain in power for life. Meanwhile, he has strengthened his position by inducting several of his colleagues into the Central Committee. The names of several leaders are missing in the list of members of the Central Committee, including Prime Minister Li Qing (67), National People's Congress president Li Zanshu (72), Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chairman Wang Yang (67), former Deputy Prime Minister Han Zheng (67) is included. All these leaders were members of the outgoing seven-member standing committee, which is headed by Jinping.

Prime Ministers Li Qing and Wang Yang are considered moderate leaders of China. In the last 10 years, Li Qing has played an important role in running China's economy. Li Qing has already announced that he will step down as prime minister, while the party has set the retirement age at 68. At present his age is 67 years. In other changes, Foreign Minister and State Counselor Wang Yi has been made a member of the Central Committee, while former Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has been ousted. After the election of the standing committee on Sunday, Jinping will appear before the media along with other members of the new team. Jinping is completing his 10-year term as CPC chief and president this year.

He will be the first Chinese leader after party founder Mao Zedong to serve a third term in power. Mao Zedong ruled for nearly three decades. Observers say that getting a new term could mean Jinping being in power for the rest of his life, like Mao. The General Conference (Congress) during its concluding session on Saturday passed several resolutions, including amending its constitution, to give more powers to President Xi Jinping.