China's Parliament Approves Xi As President

Newly elected President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with former President Hu Jintao after Xi was also elected as chairman of the Central Military Commission during the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14.

China's largely powerless parliament has approved the country's new leader, Xi Jinping, as the nation's president.

Delegates voted 2,952-to-1 for Xi in balloting, with three abstaining.

Xi succeeded Hu Jintao as the leader of the Communist Party and chairman of its military in November in a once-a-decade handover to a new group of younger leaders.

Adding the title of president gives Xi the last of the three titles held by Hu.

Xi's accession marks only the second orderly transfer of power in more than six decades of Communist Party rule.

Also on March 14, legislators also approved government restructuring plans, which includes abolishing the Railways Ministry and combining two agencies that regulate newspapers and broadcasters into a super media regulator.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa