President Xi Jinping was today appointed as the head of China's first National Security Commission (NSC), further consolidating power in the hands of the country's most influential leader in two decades.
The appointment by the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China puts Xi in charge of a commission that will be in charge of "making overall plans and coordinating major issues and major work concerning national security".
The move follows Xi, 60, being appointed in November as the head of a new panel overseeing the country's reforms.
The body, modelled on the lines of the United States National Security Council, consisted of heads of military, intelligence and top homeland security officials.
The other prominent members of the NSC, included Premier Li Keqiang and National People's Congress (NPC) chairman Zhang Dejiang, both number two and three ranking leaders of the CPC, official media reported.
The NSC leadership is yet another powerful post for Xi, who is also head of the CPC and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces besides being the president, making him the most powerful leader in the country.
The commission, which will answer to the Political Bureau of the CPC will be responsible for decision-making, deliberation and coordination on national security work, the document approved by the Politburo today said.
The NSC was announced weeks after Japan formed a similar body to deal with national security issues in the midst of Sino-Japanese tensions over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The move to set up the NSC came in the aftermath of the terrorist attack at Tiananmen square here last year in which four persons from restive Xinjiang region were killed.
"The establishment of security will make forces like terrorism, extremism and separatism nervous," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang earlier said.
