Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping (born 1953) is the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China, holding the posts of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since November 2012, Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2012, and President of the PRC since March 2013. He is the son of Xi Zhongxun, a CCP revolutionary veteran and former vice premier, placing him among the so-called "princelings" of party elite families.

Xi rose through provincial posts in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai before joining the Politburo Standing Committee in 2007. At the 18th Party Congress in 2012 he succeeded Hu Jintao. His tenure has been defined by a sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched in 2013, the consolidation of personal authority, and the elevation of his political doctrine—"Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era"—into the CCP constitution in 2017 and the state constitution in 2018. That same 2018 constitutional revision removed the two-term limit on the presidency, enabling him to begin a third term at the 20th Party Congress in October 2022.

In foreign policy, Xi launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, oversaw the militarization of features in the South China Sea, and articulated a "community of common destiny for mankind." His government imposed the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020 following the 2019 protests, and has faced international criticism over policies in Xinjiang affecting Uyghurs—documented in the 2022 OHCHR assessment. Relations with the United States have deteriorated over trade, Taiwan, and technology controls. Domestically, Xi pursued a "zero-COVID" strategy until late 2022 and has emphasized "common prosperity," Party discipline, and self-reliance in semiconductors and other strategic sectors. Analysts frequently describe him as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping.