Xi Jinping: China Future Strategy and Doctrine

Xi Jinping (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician currently serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People’s Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. As Xi holds the top offices of the party, the state, and the military, he is sometimes referred to as China’s “paramount leader”; in 2016, the party officially gave him the title of “core” leader. As General Secretary, Xi holds an ex-officio seat on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China’s top decision-making body. Xi Jinping has imposed progressively stricter domestic measures leading to the steady hardening and inflexibility of the Chinese state. Xi joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1971 and he applied in 1973 to join the Communist Party of China 10 times and finally got in on the tenth attempt in 1974. In 1982, he was sent to Zhengding County in Hebei as deputy Party Secretary of Zhengding County. He was promoted in 1983 to Secretary, becoming the top official of the county. Xi subsequently served in four provinces during his regional political career: Hebei (1982–1985), Fujian (1985–2002), Zhejiang (2002–2007), and Shanghai (2007). The book examines how since his appointment to China’s three top posts – simultaneously for the first time in 30 years – Xi Jinping has deftly used ideology and nationalism to accumulate power and ensure the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s legitimacy and monopoly on power.