Former Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, and newly named President Xi Jinping clap during a plenary session of the National People鈥檚 Congress held in Beijing鈥檚 Great Hall of the People, in China, Thursday, March 14, 2013. China鈥檚 new leader capped his rise Thursday by adding the largely ceremonial title of president. AP PHOTO
BEIJING鈥擟hina鈥檚 parliament named Xi Jinping as president Thursday four months after he took charge of the Communist Party with pledges of reform that have raised hopes but so far yielded little change.
Xi later held phone talks with US President Barack Obama, with the leaders discussing cyber-security, North Korea and greater cooperation on economic and security challenges, according to state media.
About 3,000 delegates lined up to cast their votes in the capital鈥檚 cavernous Great Hall of the People, dropping red papers into red ballot boxes in front of giant red flags, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Xi received 2,952 votes at the tightly choreographed ceremony, with one against and three abstentions, a 99.86 percent share.
鈥淣ow I announce comrade Xi Jinping is selected as president of the People鈥檚 Republic of China,鈥� said Liu Yunshan, who chaired the session at the National People鈥檚 Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament.
To loud applause, Xi, 59, stood up and bowed to the delegates, before shaking hands with other officials and walking off the stage.
Li Keqiang as premier
Xi鈥檚 formal appointment as head of the world鈥檚 most populous nation is due to be followed by the naming of Li Keqiang as premier on Friday, marking the final step in the nation鈥檚 once-in-a-decade power handover.
Xi鈥檚 new role was effectively guaranteed by his position as Communist party leader, the real source of his authority in China, but the title will increase his public and international standing.
And he was soon holding telephone talks with Obama, with the US president calling him within hours to offer his congratulations.
The pair discussed cyber security鈥攁fter Obama Wednesday said some threats against US firms were 鈥渟tate sponsored鈥濃�攁s well as the threat from North Korea鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs.
Washington also announced visits to Beijing for US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew next week followed by Secretary of State John Kerry.
Xi takes office at a time when China is becoming more assertive on the global stage and is taking a harder line on territorial rows with its neighbors, and Xi has vowed to increase its military strength.
Domestically, since taking the top party post in November, Xi has pledged to preserve the ruling party鈥檚 grip on power by cracking down on corruption, improving people鈥檚 livelihoods and pushing forward economic reforms.
But despite the promises of action on multiple fronts, including pollution, observers say concrete reforms would be complex and will not be swiftly introduced.
Xi last year became head of China鈥檚 top military body, the Central Military Commission, unlike his predecessor Hu Jintao, who worked as President for two years before his predecessor Jiang Zemin passed on the Commission chairmanship.
As the son of one of China鈥檚 most famous generals, Xi has closer ties to the People鈥檚 Liberation Army than Hu did and has strengthened the relationship in recent months with an unusually high number of visits to military bases.
More assertive on territorial disputes
He is seen as one of the architects of China鈥檚 recent more assertive stance on territorial disputes with neighboring countries and a supporter of Beijing鈥檚 military expansion, telling troops recently that they should be 鈥渃ombat ready.鈥�
鈥淐omrade Xi Jinping pays a great deal of attention to military development, especially in raising the military鈥檚 level of battle preparedness,鈥� said Yang Jianhua, a green-uniformed military delegate to the NPC.
Tokyo sent congratulations, and its Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it had 鈥渁lways kept our door open for dialogue with China,鈥� adding the relationship was 鈥渙ne of the most important international relationships for Japan.鈥�
Officially Xi was elected for a five-year term, but tradition dictates that barring extraordinary events he will hold the position for a decade.
He is a Communist 鈥減rinceling,鈥� the name given to relations of the first generation of Communist leaders, who grew up immersed in the ruling party鈥檚 upper echelons.
But he has threatened to target not only lowly 鈥渇lies鈥� but also top-ranking 鈥渢igers鈥� in a crackdown on corruption, which incenses many Chinese, warning that graft could 鈥渒ill the party.鈥�
In the months since Xi鈥檚 party promotion a parade of lower-level officials has been exposed for graft in efforts that have been lauded in state media as proof of a crackdown.
But an investigation by US news agency Bloomberg found that Xi鈥檚 family had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. There was no accusation of wrongdoing on his part.