Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao (born December 1942) led China through a decade of rapid economic expansion and rising international assertiveness. He became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China at the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, succeeding Jiang Zemin, and was elected President by the National People's Congress in March 2003. He also chaired the Central Military Commission from 2004 until 2012.

Hu's tenure is associated with the doctrine of the "Scientific Outlook on Development" (科学发展观), enshrined in the CPC constitution in 2007, and the slogan of a "Harmonious Society" (和谐社会), which sought to address inequality, rural poverty, and environmental degradation generated by the prior reform era. In foreign policy, his administration promoted the concept of China's "Peaceful Rise" (later "Peaceful Development") and expanded Beijing's footprint through the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the FOCAC Africa summits, and stepped-up participation in UN peacekeeping.

Key events during his rule included China's accession-era WTO integration, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the global financial crisis response (a roughly 4-trillion-yuan stimulus announced in November 2008), the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, ethnic unrest in Tibet (2008) and Xinjiang (2009), and the Senkaku/Diaoyu boat collision dispute with Japan in 2010. Critics note tightened controls on media and civil society, including the 2009 conviction of Liu Xiaobo.

Hu stepped down as General Secretary at the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, handing power to Xi Jinping, and relinquished the state presidency in March 2013. He notably also gave up the Central Military Commission chairmanship at the same time as the party post—a clean transition unlike his predecessor's. He drew renewed international attention in October 2022 when he was unexpectedly escorted out of the closing session of the 20th Party Congress on camera, an incident Chinese state media attributed to ill health.