Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese president, was elected chairman of the state Central Military Commission (CMC) on Sunday.

Hu, now 62, succeeded Jiang Zemin as chairman of the CMC of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last September.

Hu assumed the post of vice-chairmanship of the CPC Central Military Commission in 1999. He was directly involved in the making of a series of major decisions regarding army building.

Jiang's request of resignation from his remaining post as chairman of the State CMC was accepted by the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, Tuesday. He praised Hu Jintao as a "young and energetic" leader with "rich leading experience" and "excellent qualifications."

In a speech last week prior to the opening of the NPC session, Hu Jintao set forth his four-point guidelines for cross-Straits relations, stating that the Chinese people will do their best to seek peaceful reunification of the motherland but will never tolerate "Taiwan independence".

The draft Anti-Secession Law, which the NPC session is expected to ratify through vote on Monday, says China would use "non-peaceful means" to stop Taiwan's secession from China should all efforts for a peaceful reunification prove futile, according to Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

Following his assumption as chairman of CPC Central Military Commission, Hu has pledged to implement the thoughts of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin on army building and national defense and to revolutionize, modernize and standardize the Chinese army.

A white paper, titled China's National Defense in 2004 and issued late last year after Hu become chairman of CPC Central Military Commission, showed the determination of China on the issue of Taiwan.

It is the sacred responsibility of the Chinese armed forces to stop the 'Taiwan independence' forces seceding Taiwan from the country, says the white paper. "...Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident of 'Taiwan independence', the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost."

Lawmakers representing the Chinese military have voiced their consensus to promote IT-supported defense modernization to provide a solid security guarantee for the country's development.

"It has great bearing on the interests of the Party and state to resolutely follow the command of the Party's Central Committee, the CMC and CMC Chairman Hu Jintao," said Zhang Wentai, political commissar of the PLA's General Logistics Department, at a panel discussion during the current session.

A native of east China's Anhui Province, Hu graduated from the water conservancy engineering department of the prestigious Tsinghua University. With a university education, he holds the title as an engineer.

Hu succeeded Jiang as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2002 and president of China in 2003.

Two former provincial Party chiefs and a vice president of the All-China Women's Federation were also elected members of the NPC Standing Committee at Sunday's session.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2005)