Xi Jinping
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| Xi Jinping 习近平 |
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 Official portrait of Xi. |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 2008 |
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| President | Hu Jintao |
| Preceded by | Zeng Qinghong |
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15th CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary
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| In office March 2007 – October 27, 2007 |
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| Deputy | Han Zheng |
| Preceded by | Han Zheng (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Yu Zhengsheng |
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| Born | June 1, 1953 Beijing |
| Political party | Communist Party of China |
| Spouse | Peng Liyuan |
| Relations | Xi Zhongxun (father) |
| Alma mater | Tsinghua University |
Xi Jinping (simplified Chinese: 习近平; traditional Chinese: 習近平; pinyin: Xí Jìnpíng, born 1953) is a senior leader of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the country's Vice-President, the top-ranking member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, Principal of the Central Party School, and the 6th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top power organ.
Xi served mostly in Fujian province in his early career, and was later appointed party chief of the neighbor Zhejiang province, and then was appointed as Shanghai's party chief following the dismissal of Chen Liangyu. Known for his liberal policies, tough stance on corruption, and a frank openness about political and market economy reforms, his combination of positions makes Xi the presumed heir apparent to current Chinese paramount leader Hu Jintao, the emerging leader of the People's Republic of China's fifth generation of leadership.
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[edit] Early life
Xi Jinping was born in June 1953 in Beijing, and is a native of Fuping County, Shaanxi. He is the youngest son of Xi Zhongxun, one of the founders of the Communist guerrilla movement in Shaanxi Province in northern China and former Vice-Premier. At the time his father served as the head of the Communist Party's propaganda department, and later Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress. At age 10, during the Cultural Revolution, Xi's father was purged and was sent to work in a factory in Luoyang, and jailed in 1968. Without the protection of his father, Xi went to work in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi, in 1969 in Mao Zedong's Socialist Re-education movement. He later became the Party branch Secretary of the production team. When he left in 1975, he was only 22 years old.
From 1975 to 1979, Xi studied Chemical Engineering at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. From 1979 to 1982 he worked for his father's former subordinate Geng Biao in the General Office of the Central Military Commission (as an officer in active service) gained some military background.
[edit] Political career
Xi joined the Communist Youth League in 1971 and the Communist Party of China in 1974. In 1982 he was sent to Zhengding County in Hebei as its party secretary. Xi subsequently served in four provinces during his political career: Shaanxi, Hebei, Fujian and Zhejiang. The younger Xi has won his spurs as the governor of Fujian, since 2000, where he made efforts to attract investment from Taiwan and to boost free market economy. His career in Zhejiang was marked by tough and straightforward stance against corrupt officials, which earned him a name on the national media and drew attention from China's top leaders.
Xi held Party positions in the CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee, and became the president of the Party School in Fuzhou in 1990. In 1999 he was promoted to the vice-governor of Fujian province, then governor a year later. In 2002 he took up senior government and Party positions in Zhejiang Province, as the party chief. Xi was in turn made an alternate member of the 15th CPC Central Committee and holds the membership of the 16th CPC Central Committee. After the dismissal of Chen Liangyu in September 2006 due to a social security fund scandal, Han Zheng, who replaced Chen as an acting Party Chief, was in turn replaced by Xi as the next Party Chief of Shanghai in March of 2007.
Before Xi became the Party Chief for Shanghai, he was in charge of Zhejiang, one of China's most affluent provinces, a center for the success of China's economic development, with growth rates averaging 14% for the past twenty years. Xi kept his policies in line with the central government, but was also very conciliatory in developing the Yangtze Golden Triangle region with neighbours Shanghai[1].
Xi is considered to be the most successful of "princelings" of Chinese revolutionaries. Senior leaders consider Xi to be an emerging figure, open to serious dialogue about deep-seated market economic reforms and even political reform.[citation needed] He is generally popular with foreign dignitaries, who are intrigued by his openness and pragmatism. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson regards Xi as a rising political star and friend[2].
Xi is an alternate member of the 15th CPC Central Committee, and member of the 16th CPC Central Committee. Member of the 17th CPC Central Committee, member of the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee, and member of the Secretariat of the 17th CPC Central Committee.
[edit] Elevation and potential
Xi's appointment to the Party Secretary post in Shanghai, which is arguably the most important regional leadership position in China, was seen as a sign of confidence and affirmation from President Hu Jintao, and a stepping stone for Xi to become an emerging member of the fifth generation of Chinese leadership, a result that was solidified by his appointment as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee at the 17th Party Congress in October 2007. Xi was ranked above Li Keqiang, making him a serious contender to be China's next paramount leader.
At the 11th National People's Congress, Xi was elected as Vice-President on March 15, 2008.[3] In addition, he was put in charge of the preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the wake of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Xi went and visited disaster areas in Shaanxi and Gansu.
[edit] Family
Xi married famous Chinese folk singer Peng Liyuan (彭丽媛) in 1987. Peng's figure was a lot more public than that of Xi until his political elevation. They frequently live apart due to their largely separate lives. They are sometimes considered China's emerging star political couple. They have a daughter named Xi Mingze.
[edit] References
- ^ Duowei:曾慶紅取代江澤民成為“團派”最有力挑戰者
- ^ excerpt from CNN: Yuan-way ticket: Paulson goes to China Treasury Secretary hopes to nudge trading partner on currency's trade influence. September 19 2006: 7:56 AM EDT[dead link]
- ^ "Hu Jintao reelected Chinese president", Xinhua (China Daily), March 15, 2008.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by He Guoqiang |
Governor of Fujian 1999 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Lu Zhangong |
| Preceded by Chai Songyue |
Governor of Zhejiang (acting) 2002 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Lü Zushan |
| Preceded by Li Zemin |
Chairman of Zhejiang People's Congress Standing Committee 2003 &nbdash; 2007 |
Succeeded by Yu Guoxing |
| Preceded by Zeng Qinghong |
Vice President of the People's Republic of China since 2008 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Zhang Dejiang |
CPC Zhejiang Committee Secretary 2002 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Zhao Hongzhu |
| Preceded by Han Zheng |
CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary 2007 |
Succeeded by Yu Zhengsheng |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Zeng Qinghong |
President of the Central Party School since 2007 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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