When Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, observers expected him to be the most progressive Communist Party leader in Chinese history, due to his secretiveness and family history.
After 10 years, these expectations fell completely, which shows how far this 69-year-old man, who won yesterday (Friday) an unprecedented third term, was unknown at the time.
Since the rule of the founder of the regime, Mao Zedong, he has worked patiently to consolidate his power.
The official historiography of the CCP consistently praises its path from forced labor in the countryside, experiencing harsh peasant life to its slow rise to power and hard work.
But the Chinese president does not “strive for power because of his desire for power alone,” as Alfred L. Chan is the author of a book regarding Xi’s life, but explains to “AFP” that he “seeks power (and uses it) as a tool to achieve his vision for the future of his country.”
Another biographer, Adrian Giggs, told “Agence France Presse”: “He really has a vision for China and wants to see it as the most powerful country in the world,” considering that Xi is not motivated by a desire for enrichment, contrary to what was said regarding his family wealth in the international media.
“early ripening”
The Communist Party is at the heart of this vision, which Xi calls the “Chinese dream” or “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
His childhood did not indicate that he would rise to the highest position in the Chinese Communist Party. His father, Shi Zhongxun, was a revolutionary hero who became a vice premier, but Mao Zedong punished him during the Cultural Revolution.
“Xi and his family were treated harshly,” Chan said.
Xi Jinping lost his prestige overnight. And he himself said that schoolmates turned away from him. An experience that, according to political scientist David Champoo, contributed to giving him “a sense of emotional and psychological detachment and self-reliance from an early age.”
At the age of just 15, Xi was sent to work in harsh conditions in the countryside, transporting grain and sleeping in a cave-like dwelling dug into a hillside, which he says was “shocked by the hard work” during this period.
He recounted to the Washington Post in 1992 regarding hearings during which he had to convict his father. He said at the time, “Even if you do not understand, you are forced to understand.” “It makes you mature prematurely,” he added.
Married to an opera singer
Says his biographer Alfred. Chan, this tough childhood endowed him with a keen mind.
Today, the cave where he slept has become a tourist site to show his concern for the poorest. One of the residents drew a picture of a semi-mythical figure reading books during breaks, stressing that he was “not an ordinary man.”
Because of what happened to his father, his request to join the Communist Party was rejected several times before he was accepted.
In 1974 Xi became a village party leader. He began, according to Giggs, “from a very low level,” and rose to power until he became governor of Fujian Province in 1999, then party leader in Zhejiang in 2002, and finally in Shanghai in 2007.
At the end of the seventies of the last century, following the death of Mao, his father was rehabilitated, which strengthened his position.
After divorcing his first wife, Xi married opera singer Peng Liyuan in 1987, when she was more famous than him.
“big shock”
Chan said Xi has always viewed himself as the “heir of the revolution.”
In 2007, he was appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body.
When he replaced Hu Jintao five years later, the outcome of his performance left little to be guessed regarding his actions from clamping down on social movements and independent media, accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang or promoting a strong foreign policy.
The party’s importance, Brown wrote, is clear, as is its mission to “restore greatness to China.” But it is also clear that he fears that his grip on power is weakening.
“The collapse of the Soviet Union and socialism in Eastern Europe was a great shock,” Giggs said, explaining that Xi attributes the collapse to political opening.
So he decided that this should not happen to China. That is why he wants a strong leadership of the Communist Party with a strong leader.”
• Xi Jinping has a vision for China and wants to see it as the most powerful country in the world.
