China's President Changes the Rules, Strengthens His Hand

In the 12 months since Xi Jinping assumed the presidency of China, he has amassed more power more swiftly than any Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, foreshadowing changes in the way China governs itself and deals with the rest of the world. His crackdown on corruption is expected to ensnare more senior officials and put others on warning. He has moved quickly to assert command over the domestic security apparatus as well as the army. “He’s trying to create a supreme leader [position for] himself,” says Bo Zhiyue, professor and senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore.

While the previous two generations of leaders, headed by former presidents Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, hailed from relatively humble backgrounds and trained as technocrats, Xi is a princeling, the son of a former top leader, who has long been groomed for power. “Unlike them, he is not an outsider to the system. He has a very well-established family background and the self-confidence that comes with it,” says Ding Xueliang, a professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.