1. Xi Jinping Joe Berrios Mason Childress Lara Davis

2. Background Born in 1953, he led an early life of luxury as son of Xi Zhongxun, a high ranking official under Mao Zedong He lived among the commoners from 1969-1978 during the Cultural Revolution, toiling in the fields and sleeping on bricks After applying to be in the Communist Party and being denied 9 times, he was finally accepted Graduated from Tsinghua University with a Chemistry degree He soon began ascending to power in the party with his father's help In 2008 he oversaw the Beijing Olympics Currently the Party Leader of the PRC and will be made, this month, into the head of state by China’s National People‘s Congress Known as a “princeling” Descendent of a senior communist official

3. Background (Cont.) Rated 9 th Most Powerful Person in the World by Forbes Magazine (December 2012 Due to his family background, he has personal ties to many military leaders His wife is a folksinger and his daughter is enrolled in Harvard His wife was appointed World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/Aids and tuberculosis in June 2011 She is also major-general in the People's Liberation Army

4. Expected Policies When relating Jinping to predecessors, he is "comparatively progressive" but "there is little in his record to suggest that he intends to steer China in a sharply different direction" (NY Times) Belief in supremacy of Chinese Communist Party New policies will be geared towards ensuring the survival of the party Xi supported the trimming of the Politburo Standing Committee from 9 members to 7 Belief: committee of 9 held an overrepresentation of interests that led to gridlock Possible future policies could continue reduction of representation Xi may have opportunity to appoint new committee members at the next party congress in 2017 Current chairpersons - old and conservative Has opportunity to bring in younger, more liberal officials

5. Visions for China Focus on maintaining economic growth and prosperity He has worked hard to attract after working hard to attract foreign direct investment Facing growing pressure from Chinese elites to support more open economic and political systems Was quoted in 2005 stating “government should be a limited government” In the past, the Chinese government has continued to tighten control in light of these pressures He has a history of zero tolerance for corruption and is expected to have the same attitude while the President

6. Sources http://www.forbes.com/profile/xi-jinping/ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/world/asia/communi sts-conclude-party-congress-in- china.html?hp&pagewanted=print&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/world/asia/communi sts-conclude-party-congress-in- china.html?hp&pagewanted=print&_r=0 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/peopl e/x/xi_jinping/index.html http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/peopl e/x/xi_jinping/index.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399