LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Xi Jinping's elevation to the presidency this week gives him the last of the three titles held by his predecessor, Hu Jintao.

"Now I announce comrade Xi Jinping is selected as president of the People's Republic of China," Liu Yunshan, a top official of the ruling party, who chaired the electoral session at the National People's Congress, said.

Xi was named head of the Communist Party and chairman of its military, in positions of true power, last November in the once-a-decade handover to a new group of leaders that has been years in the making.

His party leadership is his real source of power. The title of head of state will increase his public role, such as trips overseas.

Xi has pledged to preserve the ruling party's supremacy, as well as vowing to improve livelihoods and implement economic reforms Since he took its top post in November, He also intends to address the pervasive corruption of the Chinese states, which has long been a thorn in the side of the public.

Xi rode into office on an "anti-corruption" platform and wasted no time in restructuring and putting curbs on extravagant spending by the party and government - the two are essentially the same. He streamlined the ministries right down to the point of slashing the budget for flowers on banquet tables.

And Xi has a dream. His "China dream" is for the party and country to get back to their roots. Unlike the American Dream, which is all about the individual, Xi's dream is all about the country as a whole.

Xi is being elected for a five-year term, but barring extraordinary events or death the 59-year-old will hold the position for a decade.

Xi is the son of one of China's most esteemed generals and known as a "princeling," the name given to relations of China's first generation of Communist leaders, who grew up immersed in the ruling party's upper echelons.

© 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.