President of the People's Republic of China Central Military Commission, became the undisputed top leader of the party and the state. When Jiang Zemin stepped down in 2003, the offices of General Secretary and President were once again both given to one man, then Vice-President Hu Jintao, the first Vice President to assume the office. In turn, Hu vacated both offices for Xi Jinping in 2012 and 2013. Under Xi, the term limits for the President were removed. This was widely interpreted as part of an expansion of Xi's power, effectively extending his tenure as China's paramount leader indefinitely. Xi explained the decision in terms of needing
Hu Chunhua Jintao. He also took part in the security preparations of the Beijing Olympics, and advocated increasing domestic consumption in response to the global financial crisis. At the 17th Party Congress in the fall of 2007, Hu Chunhua became a member of the Central Committee. In November 2009, he was appointed Regional Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia. He was also elected Chairman of the Inner Mongolia People's Congress in January 2010. Not long after he took charge of the vast northern region, Hu embarked on a plan to rebalance growth in the region. Under Hu's predecessor Chu Bo, Inner Mongolia saw