China’s National People’s Congress highlights Xi’s dominant position and diminishing profile of collective leadership around him

News Snapshot:

Members of the People's Liberation Army Band playing at the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images The sun was shining on Tiananmen Square on Monday afternoon, and inside the Great Hall of the People the atmosphere was almost festive as a military band struck up the Welcome March. Xi Jinping and the rest of the leadership clapped along as they took their seats onstage against a backdrop of red and gold. The closing ceremony of the Two Sessions, week-long parallel meetings of the National People’s...