China's legislature elected President Hu Jintao to the chairmanship of the state Central Military Commission yesterday, the final step in a leadership transition that began when he became the general secretary of the Communist Party of China in November 2002.
Deputies to the National People's Congress approved Hu's election with loud applause and a near unanimous vote.
An overwhelming 2,886 delegates cast their ballots for Hu, with six voting against him and five abstaining.
As results of the vote were announced in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, deputies applauded and Hu stood and bowed.
Hu, 62, succeeded Jiang Zemin as China's president in March 2003 and as head of the Party's Central Military Commission last September. He now holds all the top positions as head of the Party, military and state.
"I think this really reflects popular feeling in the country," NPC deputy Li Yuan said as he filed out of the chamber in the Great Hall of the People after the secret ballot.
Hu urged the armed forces to perform their "historical mission" and safeguard China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.
"We must continuously enhance our sense of political responsibility, and always place the task of defending national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and safeguarding the interests of national development above anything else," he said at a plenary meeting of the People's Liberation Army delegation to the full session of the legislature.
"We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars if any," he said.
"All comrades of the military should correctly understand the situation and resolutely perform the military's historical mission," Hu told the PLA deputies.
Jiang's request to resign from his remaining post as chairman of the state CMC was accepted by the lawmakers last Tuesday. He praised Hu as a "young and energetic" leader with "rich leadership experience" and "excellent qualifications."
In a speech last week prior to the opening of the NPC session, Hu set forth his four-point guidelines for cross-strait relations, stating that the Chinese people will do their best to seek peaceful reunification of the nation but will never tolerate "Taiwan independence."
A draft anti-secession law, which the NPC is expected to ratify today, states that China would use "non-peaceful means" to stop Taiwan's secession from China should all efforts for a peaceful reunification prove futile, according to Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.
A white paper, titled "China's National Defense in 2004" and issued late last year after Hu became chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission, showed China's determination on the Taiwan issue.
It is the sacred responsibility of the Chinese armed forces to stop Taiwan from seceding from the country, said the white paper.
"... Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident supporting independence, the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost," it said.
Lawmakers representing the Chinese military have voiced consensus to promote defense modernization and provide a solid security guarantee for the country's development.
"It has great bearing on the interests of the Party and state to resolutely follow the command of the Party's Central Committee, the CMC and CMC Chairman Hu Jintao," Zhang Wentai, political commissar of the PLA's General Logistics Department, told a panel discussion during the NPC session.
A native of east China's Anhui Province, Hu graduated from the water conservancy engineering department of Tsinghua University.
Two former provincial Party chiefs and a vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation were also elected members of the NPC Standing Committee at yesterday's session.