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

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…