Chinese Leadership Profile
Leadership Profile: China
January 14, 2015
This article has been produced by the efforts of the following members:
Meghan Schwan – Main Contributing Research Assistant
Louis-Claude Perrault-Carré – Team Leader for China-Industry
Xi Jinping (age 61) was elected as the leader of the Chinese Communist Party by the National People’s Congress on March 14, 2013.[1] Xi is notably one of the country’s most powerful leaders; serving as head of the Communist Party and the Central Military Commission, thus establishing himself as the paramount ruler within a tightly centralized political system.[2]
Since his election, Xi has emerged as a transformative leader, with an agenda that proposes to reform the political and economic relations both within the nation, and with the rest of the world. Although it is still lacking in details, Xi’s ambitious proposed reform is centered on addressing the country’s endemic corruption, relaxation of the “one-child policy,” expanding trade and investment, creating new international institutions, and strengthening the military.[3] If successful, Xi’s reforms could yield a “corruption-free, politically cohesive, and economically powerful one-party state with global reach.” [4]
The success of Xi’s reform rests on his ability “to consolidate personal power by creating new institutions, silencing political opposition, and legitimizing his leadership and the Communist Party’s power in the eyes of the Chinese people.” [5] Central to achieving this is Xi’s ability to foster strong political support from the emerging middle class – which is expected to pose a direct threat to the central command and political legitimacy of the Communist Party. Xi has made great efforts to garner public support both through public appearances and the corruption charges laid against former security chief Zhou Yongkang.[6]
Despite the reform initiative, it remains unclear as to whether this represents long-term change for China. There is concern that Xi has a strong nationalist agenda, and these policies are being used as a façade to cover this underlying intent. [7]
