Vice President Xi Jinping on Thursday succeeded Hu Jintao as general-secretary of China's all-powerful Communist Party, handing him the reins of the world's most populous country and second-largest economy.

Xi's long expected ascension to the apex of Chinese power was confirmed by state news agency Xinhua, which reported he would head a reshuffled steering committee for the party comprising seven members, down from nine before.

Xi Jinping has also been appointed chief of China's military.

The appointment means outgoing Chinese leader Hu Jintao stands down as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) -- a powerful position that his predecessor Jiang Zemin had clung to for two years after Hu was made president.