Xi Jinping: Asia’s New Strongman

Five years ago, Xi Jinping was a little-known figure in Chinese politics. Around that time, he was just entering into office as the new president of China, and many analysts believed he would lead the country in the same basic tradition of his most recent predecessors, essentially maintaining the status quo.

But now five years on, it is easy to see that Xi has become China’s most powerful ruler since the late Mao Zedong, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and led the nation with an iron grip until his death in the 1970s.

The Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress has recently ended, and there are three main takeaways from this event showing that Xi Jinping is quickly becoming an authoritarian leader in the tradition of Mao. These takeaways show that Mr. Xi is now in a position to rule China for as long as he would like to.