Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao has been led away from the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress.
The petite-looking 79-year-old was sitting next to President Xi Jinping as he was led away by officials.
There has been no official statement from the Chinese government about the incident, but the Xinhua state news agency said Mr Hu was not feeling well.
After the week-long congress, the party is expected to confirm Mr Xi, 69, for a historic third term.
The event, held every five years in Beijing, confirmed his position as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Hu Jintao, who held the presidency between 2003 and 2013, was on the podium when two officials approached him. He said something to Xi Jinping, who nodded back.
Then Mr. Hu was escorted out of the Great Hall of the People.
The images of Hu being asked to leave the stage are attracting worldwide attention as people try to find out what happened, says the BBC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell.
He adds that so far there are many questions and no answers from the Chinese government.
Chinese state news site Xinhua reported that Mr. Hu was not feeling well during the session. It said his staff then accompanied him from the session to rest, adding that he is “much better” now.
Earlier on Saturday, the Central Committee of 205 senior party officials was elected. Delegates rubber-stamped amendments to the party’s constitution and endorses Mr Xi’s ideas as guiding principles for China’s future.
In his opening speech at Congress last Sunday, he praised the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong as a step from “chaos to governance”. He also affirmed China’s right to use force to conquer the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Mr Xi is currently combining the positions of General Secretary of the Communist Party, President and Chief of the Armed Forces. He is also known as Paramount or Supreme leader.
On Sunday, he is expected to be officially confirmed for a third term as general secretary and unveil his new leadership team.
In 2018, he abolished the two-term presidential limit, paving the way for him to rule indefinitely.
