On taking power, Xi Jinping launches a ruthless series of purges and an unexpected ideological revival to cement his controland mobilise the Chinese Communist Party behind him.Subscribe to The Economist with the best offer at economist.com/chinapod. Xi Jinping is the most powerful person in the world. Lai Changxing, a charismatic, semi-literate man from the countryside, was in charge of the Red Mansion. Xi is . As Xi Jinping stands on the brink of power, the emergence of a flamboyant rival deepens the crisis.Subscribe to The Economist with the best offer at economist.com/chinapod. This makes no senselawlessness and the rainforest crisis. He was very quiet and a little bit timid, says Mr Wu, who is now at the National University of Singapore. We bring you surprising trends and tales from around the world, current affairs, business and financeas well as science and technology. 24:58 Seed of doubt . Derek Davison (3/16/23) Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. What lessons did he learn from the collapse of the Soviet Union? He will probably rule China for the rest of his life. People never imagined that he will become the national leader.. He chose to survive by becoming redder than the red as one insider put it. To a man with a hammer, a renowned psychologist once posited, everything looks like a nail. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. After his experiences during the Cultural Revolution, and nearly two decades navigating the corruption, crime and extraordinary changes in Fujian, Xi knew how power worked. Xi Jinping wasnt the only member of his family to be cast down. But his family is torn apart while he is still a child. We examine the lessons to be drawn from his legacy. Several others, including Chinas former security overlord, Zhou Yongkang, and two retired generals, were accused of being in cahoots. Sep 7th 2022. Officials say it was posing a serious threat to political security. For decades, China's leaders have staked their claim to rule on economic growth. Hosted on Acast. , This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "The Prince among princelings", Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents, The state is sucking in people, companies and federal spending, It would spread far across the region, with devastating consequences for the world, They promise riches for drugmakers, huge savings for health systems and better lives for millions, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. I see the cow shedsmeaning Red Guard detention housesand how people can blow hot and cold., Few people dare to blow cold about Mr Xithose who have done so have been jailed or otherwise punished. All rights reserved. Xi had to remain standing until his father sat down. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer. As China's top leaders gather for the 20th Communist Party congress, all eyes are on China's economy. When Mr Xi assumed power in 2012 some observers were cautiously optimistic that he would turn out to be some kind of reformer: not another Mikhail Gorbachev, but at least someone who would rule with a lighter touch and try to get along with the United States and the West. The first is the support he enjoyed within the elite. He likes football, claims to swim 1,000 metres a day and is a fan of Sleepless in Seattle, The Godfather and Saving Private Ryan. And our annual ranking of the worlds most expensive cities. But his story remains hidden by a strict censorship machine. This infamous scene wasnt the only site of turmoil. Assets worth more than $14bn were seized from Mr Zhous family and associates. Subscribe today to gain access to every Research Intelligencer article we publish as well as the exclusive daily newsletter, full access to The MediaPost Cases, first-look research and daily insights from Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief. Subscribers can sign up to Drum Tower, our new weekly newsletter, to understand what the world makes of Chinaand what China makes of the world. The iron cone, so heavy that he had to prop it up with both hands, was covered in Chinese characters that revealed his crime: Xi was a counter-revolutionary. Control was still the guiding principle of the day. But the real story of China's leader remains a mystery. Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | RSS. One of the many places to see these new forces in action was a seven-storey building in Fujian known as the Red Mansion. Those optimists a decade ago included Chinese people familiar with the partys inner workings. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Eventually, the corruption became too egregious to ignore. At the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress, Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as leader. There are two main reasons. Xi was repeatedly locked up and forced to do hard labour. Xi Jinping and his wife split up: Xi knew his future was in China. But as a nationalist he is unlikely to hasten use of foreign vaccines that would enable China to make a swifter exit. The Economist's Sue-Lin Wong finds out how he rose to the top in a new podcast series. But just as Xi was finally reaching the top of the party, an uneasy feeling began to spread that its grip on power might be wavering. Why did Xi retain such faith in the Communist Perhaps he could afford to be incorruptible, at least as far as money was concerned. I see the jailsand the hypocrisy of the world.. A large home-owning middle class had emerged within the previous decade or two. Several were sentenced to life imprisonment including party and government officials who worked in security, customs, the armed forces, tax and finance. By cloaking himself in communism, he would be seen by the party elite as a safe pair of hands. With Mao gone, Xis father was back in government, an eager supporter of the new Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, who was opening up Chinas economy. The Xi family remember their patriarch sitting at home silently, alone and in darkness. Despite its heavy drag on the economy, and ever louder grumbling from citizens affected by draconian lockdowns, he is unlikely to abandon it until he is sure that doing so will not lead to a surge in deaths. The 40-minute podcasts Giving freer rein to the masses was dangerous. This will be unprecedented in the post-Mao era. Our contact is convinced that Xi has a genuine sense of entitlement, believing that members of his generation are the legitimate heirs to the revolutionary achievements of their parents and therefore deserve to rule China, said the dispatch. Xi will be in Russia from . . The past ten years have revealed a lot about his thinking. XI JINPING is the most powerful person in the world. Once Xi Jinping became the number one, my father was so happy, recalls his daughter, Nanyang Li, who now lives in America. The Economist' s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, interpret the targets set at the National People's Congress with The Economist . During the Cultural Revolution, Mao tried to purge his critics by unleashing the Red Guardsspontaneously formed gangs of radicals, independent of the party. His speeches often are not released until long after they are delivered (for example, one that discussed the Soviet Unions collapse and the extremely great risks and challenges involved in keeping the Chinese Communist Party in power into the distant future was published on September 15th, well over four years after he gave it). Pero no pas mucho tiempo para que ese mismo ao reapareciera sentado en el banquillo en un juicio que dur un da. Then she reported him two of her other children were at home and hadnt yet been denounced. Inside the pleasure palace was a restaurant on the second floor, staffed with top Hong Kong chefs and stocked with fine wine and cognac. starting Oct. 16 in Beijing. Especially given Mr Bidens repeated suggestions that America would defend Taiwan militarily, he cannot be sure of swift victory should he decide to try to conquer it (a bigger challenge in some ways than subduing Ukraine, given its terrain and distance from the mainland). They discuss what this change in focus means for business at home and abroad. Sometime after his mother was forced to denounce him, Xi escaped through a window and ran home in the pouring rain: Mum, Im hungry, he said, his teeth chattering. We hear from officials who have dealt with him up close, ordinary people whose lives have been upended by his ambitions and insiders who share his background. Ng Han Guan / AP. The elder Mr Xi, who died in 2002, had been purged by Mao and rehabilitated by Deng. For more China coverage, subscribe to The Economist and find a speci. The approved narrative of Xis early years, parroted in articles, books and television shows produced by Chinas propaganda machinery, is part of what gives Xi credibility in China. His father was tortured. The couple reportedly fought a lot, and three years into the marriage, Xis wife wanted to return to London. -3.76 -0.30%. The anger that had fuelled the demonstrations in 1989 continued to rumble and grow. This week, in the first of two episodes, we look at what can be done to reduce demand, Also on the daily podcast: remembering Oe Kenzaburo, a Nobel-winning author, Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. He would explain what revolution was. He has identified himself personally with Chinas zero-covid strategy. His father had fought alongside Mao to forge the communist revolution, and became one of the chairmans right-hand men. After his hosts found out Xi had read Mark Twain, they took a boat out on the Mississippi. It was a good opportunity for him to show, Im not going to be dictated to by any retired person, reckons the ex-spook. And splits were emerging in the party. At the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress, Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as leader. Small ngos were springing up, championing the rights of the downtrodden. According toThe Economist, the episodes ask such questions as (and we quote): Subscribe to your choice of industry specific newsletters, save $100 on conferences, search member directories, comment on stories and more. A censor at a Chinese social media company can't take it anymore after Xi Jinpings rule brings harsh new restrictions. Members of this group enjoy political advantage. His small company evolved into a conglomerate with interests all over the province. The personal attributes that set Mr Xi on this path will keep driving him along it. Without explanation, his aides cancelled meetings with foreign dignitaries, including Americas then secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. Mr Xi was not driven by ideology, it quoted the scholar as saying, but had chosen to survive by becoming redder than red. De la noche a la maana no se supo ms de l. Mr Biden was accompanied by Evan Medeiros, who was the National Security Councils China director. Western analysts were baffled. Others concluded that the system was irrevocably broken and left China. Chinese social media is buzzing with speculations that President Xi Jinping might step down from his position following the mismanagement of the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns accompanied by the economic slump in the country. Oct 13th 2022. Officials suggested that he had plotted a coup. Find someone else to take the job, then, Mr Johnson imagines Mr Xi as having told them. Headline Mar 17, 2023. Xi Jinping is born into the top rung of China's elite. The trial of Mr Bo and the round-up of these men in the first three years of Mr Xis rule was a political drama rivalling that of the arrest in 1976, soon after Maos death, of the Gang of Fourthe ultra-radicals who had orchestrated Maos vicious Cultural Revolution. At Chinas 20th Communist Party congress in October he secured a third term as party chief, and may rule China for the rest of his life. 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