The rise of Xi Jinping, explained

How Xi Jinping became China s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong Help keep Vox free for everybody: Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications () so you don t miss any videos: Xi Jinping, president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012, is one of the most powerful political figures in the world. By initiating an unprecedented third term as Chinas leader in October, 2022, Xi has signaled that he may plan to remain in power for life making him the first Chinese leader since Mao Zedong to hold unchecked power over the Peoples Republic of China. But Xis connection to Mao goes deeper than a shared outlook that emphasizes unifying the party around a single leader. When Xi was just a young boy, his family who had held elite party status thanks to his fathers pivotal role in Mao s Long March in 1935 was denounced during Maos Cultural Revolution, a chaotic decade