Xi Jinping elected deputy to 13th NPC

Hohhot :  Chinese President Xi Jinping was elected deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) by a unanimous vote at the first session of the 13th regional people's congress of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday.

Xi was nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) as a candidate for deputy to the 13th NPC, which was put to a vote at the regional congress, Xinhua news agency reported.

Xi was among 58 deputies elected to the new NPC at the regional congress. The 13th NPC will open its first annual session in Beijing on March 5.

Spanning across northern China, Inner Mongolia connects eight provincial regions, borders Russia and Mongolia, and is home to 55 ethnic groups.

Deputies said Xi's election in an ethnic minority border region "showed a new ethos of the CPC Central Committee: maintaining a close tie with the people, advancing poverty alleviation, pushing for the Belt and Road Initiative and other key state programmes".