Xi Jinping: The 'mystery man' in line to lead China
America is getting an introduction this week to the Chinese vice president, who is being groomed as the booming nation's next leader. A guide to Beijing's future boss

Xi Jinping, China's vice president and the heir apparent to President Hu Jintao, is making his official U.S. debut this week. Underscoring the importance of China-U.S. relations, Xi was given an extraordinary welcome, including a long Oval Office meeting with President Obama, an elaborate reception at the State Department, and a 19-gun salute at the Pentagon. Technically, Xi's visit simply reciprocates Vice President Joe Biden's trip to China last year, but for the U.S., the real goal seems to be getting a better read on the man about to lead the world's most populous country. Here, a guide to the "mystery man" in line for China's presidency:
When will Xi become China's leader?
Xi, who's 58, is expected to replace President Hu as head of the Communist Party this October, then assume the presidency when Hu retires in March 2013. If history is any guide, Xi will be president for about 10 years. This U.S. trip is part of his well-scripted ascension.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What do we know about him?
Xi Jinping (pronounced Shee Jeen-ping) is a man "full of contradictions," says Damian Grammaticas at BBC News. He was born into affluence, a Communist Party "princeling" whose father, a hero of the Communist Revolution, rose to the post of vice premier before running afoul of Chairman Mao in 1962. When his father was purged, 15-year-old Xi was sent to a poor, remote village, where he lived in a cave and labored in the field for seven years. He later worked his way up in the party, attaining senior positions in several wealthy, relatively business-friendly coastal provinces. Until very recently, Xi's wife, famed folk singer Peng Liyuan, was the most famous member of his family.
What does his biography tell us about him as a leader?
Not much. The poor are hopeful that Xi, sensitized by his years as a laborer, will tackle China's huge income disparity. But wealthy capitalists are also optimistic, because of his leadership in Shanghai and other coastal provinces. "Xi spoke up for private businesses, saying they are a crucial component of the economy," businessman Zhou Dewen tells the BBC. "Xi Jinping created an environment for private and state businesses to compete fairly." In other words, he's a consensus candidate "who can appeal to almost everyone, but who seems to have alienated almost no one in his rise through the ranks," says the BBC's Grammaticas.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
What about his politics?
Xi has a reputation in China as a pragmatic centrist, but a U.S. diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks calls him "redder than red," suggesting he's not about to throw communism out the window. Xi has been careful on his trip to hew closely to Hu's policy formulations. We probably won't know his true plans until he takes control next year.
What does Xi's visit tell us about U.S.-China relations?
Xi is more personable than Hu, or any recent Chinese leader, and seemed very comfortable in his meeting with Obama and other top officials, embodying his country's newfound confidence. "The world hasn't seen a leader like him in China before," says ABC News in an analysis by its Beijing bureau. Previous leaders grew up during a time when China was heavily dependent on U.S. aid, but "Xi was just 24 in 1978, the dawn of China's transformation from a closed, communist economy to the international powerhouse that it is today. Many Chinese in his generation hold respect for the U.S., but no longer feel as indebted nor, perhaps, as grateful." Still, Xi feels comfortable enough about the U.S. that he's sending his daughter to Harvard.
What else will Xi do during his visit?
After meeting with Obama, congressional leaders, and other top officials in Washington, Xi flies to Muscatine, Iowa, on Wednesday to reunite with the family that hosted him during his first visit to the U.S. (He came here to study advanced hog-raising techniques in 1985.) He then travels to Los Angeles to meet business leaders and, reportedly, attend a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game. After his U.S. visit, Xi travels to Ireland and Turkey.
Sources: ABC News, AP, BBC News (2), Foreign Policy, South China Morning Post, VOA
-
Here We Are: Stephen Sondheim's 'utterly absorbing' final musical
The Week Recommends The musical theatre legend's last work is 'witty, wry and suddenly wise'
-
The Trial: 'sharp' legal drama with a 'clever' script
The Week Recommends Channel 5's one-off show imagines a near future where parents face trial for their children's crimes
-
Riefenstahl: a 'gripping and incrementally nauseating' documentary
The Week Recommends Andres Veiel's nuanced film examines whether the controversial film director was complicit in Nazi war crimes
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy