Britannica profiles a leader who has concentrated power, silenced dissent, and threatens democracy across Asia
The Man Who Would Be Emperor: Understanding Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping has accumulated more political power than any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, systematically dismantling the post-Mao norms that had distributed authority more broadly within the CCP’s top leadership. Understanding who he is and how he reached this position is essential for anyone following the fate of Hong Kong, the threat to Taiwan, or the direction of Chinese foreign policy in the years ahead.
Origins and Rise
Xi Jinping was born in 1953 in Beijing, the son of Xi Zhongxun, a veteran revolutionary who served as a vice-premier under Mao. His privileged origins did not protect him from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution: his father was purged and imprisoned, and the teenage Xi was sent to the countryside for seven years as part of Mao’s campaign to re-educate urban youth through manual labor. This experience of hardship and survival in the rural northwest of China is a formative element of the official Xi Jinping biography, deployed to portray the leader as someone who rose through genuine adversity rather than dynastic privilege. After Mao’s death and the beginning of the reform era under Deng Xiaoping, Xi pursued a career through the provincial party apparatus, serving in Hebei, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai before joining the Politburo Standing Committee in 2007. He was appointed general secretary of the CCP and president of the People’s Republic of China in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
The Consolidation of Power
From the beginning of his leadership, Xi pursued an aggressive consolidation of power that broke sharply with the collective leadership norms established under Deng Xiaoping. His anti-corruption campaign, launched in 2012 and continuing to the present day, has removed or imprisoned hundreds of thousands of party members, including several senior officials at the level of the Politburo Standing Committee. Critics argue that while genuine corruption is being targeted, the campaign also serves as a tool for eliminating political rivals and intimidating potential sources of institutional resistance to Xi’s authority. In 2018, the NPC voted to remove the two-term limit on the presidency, clearing the way for Xi to remain in power indefinitely. The move was widely condemned by democracy advocates as the formalization of one-man rule.
Xi and Hong Kong
Xi’s record on Hong Kong is one of systematic dismantlement of the freedoms promised under one country, two systems. The National Security Law of 2020 was imposed without any legislative input from Hong Kong itself and has been used to prosecute hundreds of democracy advocates, journalists, and civil society leaders. The city’s electoral system was overhauled to ensure that only patriots, as defined by Beijing, can hold political office. The free press that once made Hong Kong a journalistic hub for all of Asia has been shuttered or driven into exile.
The Global Threat
Xi’s China represents the most powerful authoritarian challenge to the democratic world order since the height of Soviet power. His stated intention to absorb Taiwan, his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and his economic pressure on democratic nations that challenge China’s interests all demonstrate a willingness to use China’s power in the service of a fundamentally anti-democratic agenda. The Britannica Xi Jinping biography provides comprehensive factual background. The Council on Foreign Relations guide to Chinese governance explains the institutional structures Xi controls. Human rights documentation from Human Rights Watch details the consequences of his rule. The Freedom House China assessment provides the broadest evaluation of political conditions. Xi Jinping is not simply a political leader with whom the world must manage a complex relationship. He is the architect of a system of oppression that threatens millions of people within China and the democratic order beyond it.
Wing Sum
Arts, Culture & History Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: wingsum@appledaily.uk
Wing Sum is an arts, culture, and history journalist with professional experience documenting cultural heritage, artistic expression, and historical memory within Chinese-speaking communities. She received her journalism education at a prestigious Chinese journalism school, where she specialized in cultural reporting, archival research, and ethical storytelling.
Her work at Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese magazines and newspapers includes coverage of literature, film, visual arts, and the preservation of collective memory. Wing Sum’s reporting is grounded in interviews with artists, historians, and cultural practitioners, supported by archival sources and scholarly research.
She brings newsroom experience in balancing cultural critique with factual accuracy and historical context. Editors value her careful sourcing and resistance to sensationalism when covering sensitive historical topics.
Wing Sum’s authority is reinforced by sustained publication within established media institutions and adherence to editorial standards governing accuracy and attribution. At Apple Daily UK, she contributes culturally rigorous journalism rooted in experience, research, and professional integrity.
