Hu Jintao’s Exit Was Mysterious. Xi Jinping’s Power Play Is Not.
AtlanticMAY 2022
Xi Jinping, since the very beginning, has put himself on track to become the next Mao Zedong in Chinese politics. He has crushed dissent, uprooted civil society organizations, and expunged political rivals in his quest to be China's autocrat. Now, having secured a precedent-defying third term, Xi is set to push his vision of a strong nationalist China even further, with himself at the center.
Xi is in power because he is a strong and charismatic leader who understands the complex challenges that contemporary China is facing. The CCP now has a strong and unified core leadership, which is advantageous to overcoming China's many political and economic obstacles.