Xi Jinping handed third term: Chinese president for whom ‘God is Communist Party'

Jinping's appointment makes him the country's longest-serving leader since Mao Zedong, a feat – which the experts revealed – that no one imaged for him. A deep dive into his entry into the Communist Party, his rise as the 'ambitious, ruthless leader', an 'unexpected' personality cult not seen since Mao and how is it linked to his experiences of youth are explained in 10 points here.

Xi Jinping, by securing the third term as the Chinese president on Friday, has become the country’s most powerful leader since its founding father Mao Zedong. Jinping was handed the term after nearly 3,000 members of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People for him, in the absence of any other candidate.

China's President Xi Jinping. (AFP file)

The appointment, which will make him the country's longest-serving leader since Mao, comes four months after Jinping locked in the roles as the head of the Communist Party and the military for another five years in October.

‘Xi a man of faith... for him, God is the Communist Party’ | 10 things about Jinping

1)Seen as ruthless in his ambition, the visionary of ‘Chinese Dream’ or the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" - Alfred L. Chan, an author who has penned down his life, explains that Jinping does not “struggles for power for power's sake…but rather he strives for power as an instrument... to fulfil his vision”.

2)Another biographer, Adrian Geiges, believes that Jinping is not motivated by a desire for personal enrichment, despite revelations about his amassed wealth via international media investigations. "That's not his interest," Geiges said. "He really has a vision about China, he wants to see China as the most powerful country in the world."

3) “He is a man of faith,” Kerry Brown, author of ‘Xi: A Study in Power’ said. "The greatest mistake the rest of the world makes about Xi is to not take this faith seriously,” Brown added, noting that for Jinping, God is the Communist Party (CCP).

4)With a desire for control, intolerance for dissent, Jinping has penetrated every aspect of modern Chinese society. He has risen from being known as the husband of a celebrity singer to someone whose charisma has given birth to a personality cult, only second to seen during Mao’s era.

5) But an investigation into his 'emotionally and psychologically detached' personality inevitably links back to his childhood, experts believed. Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun was a revolutionary hero turned vice premier. A biographer of his life, Joseph Torigian revealed that Jinping father’s “strictness toward his family members was so serious that even those close to him believed it bordered on the inhuman".

6) When his father was targeted during the ‘Cultural Revolution’ and persecuted by Mao, its impact on Jinping and his rest of the family was traumatic. With father’s status shredded overnight, the family was split up. News agency AFP reported that this resulted in even one of his half-sisters killing herself, while Jinping was ostracised by his classmates.

7) At only age 15, Jinping spent years hauling grain and sleeping in cave homes. He also had to take part in 'struggle sessions' where he would denounce his father. “Even if you don't understand, you are forced to understand,” political scientist David Shambaugh suggested on the evolution of Jinping’s personality. “It makes you mature earlier." Jinping’s experiences of youth have made him “tough”. “He tends to go for broke. He tends to use a two-fisted approach when he approaches problems…but he also has a certain appreciation of the arbitrariness of power…” biographer Chan said.

8) On Xi’s entry into CCP, accounts revealed that his application for the party’s membership was rejected multiple times because of his family's history and the stigma associated with it. After being finally accepted, first he was given the role of village party boss in 1974, and then Jinping climbed to the governorship of coastal Fujian province in 1999. From there, his systematic rise but “clever” approach at keeping a low profile is impressive, biographer Geiges noted.

9) After Mao’s death, Jinping’s father was rehabilitated in the late 1970s - giving a boost to his credentials. In 1987, he got married for the second time, with superstar soprano Peng Liyuan - who was then far more famous than him. Even after being appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee - party’s highest decision making body in 2007, or after replacing Hu Jintao in 2012 as the president, there was little known about his actions once installed as the leader.

10) On why Jinping may be ‘thin skinned and dictatorial’, Cai Xia, a former high-ranking CCP cadre now in exile believed, Jinping "suffers from an inferiority complex, knowing that he is poorly educated in comparison with other top CCP leaders". But Jinping has always seen himself as the “as an heir of the revolution", Chan said. Using nationalism as a tool, he has harnessed the narrative to make China a great country again. Nevertheless, Jinping also fears his power might decline. "The fall of the Soviet Union and of socialism in eastern Europe was a big shock," said Geiges. “So he decided that something like this shall not happen to China.”

(With inputs from agencies)