Jintao, Who?

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For all the kerfuffle over the American election in recent months, this week saw an equally large story pass by with comparitively little fanfare: the appointment of China's next President. Xi Jinping was confirmed the new General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by his peers yesterday - in the new year, he will take over from current president Hu Jintao to lead the world's most populous nation for the next ten years. With China expected to surpass America as the world's biggest economy as soon as 2020 - not to mention the socialist nation's increasingly influence in Africa and the Middle East - expect David Cameron to be making friends with Jinping at the soonest opportunity. In the mean time, here's the five things you need to know about China's movie-loving new overlord and his pop-star wife... 

1. He's a born politician. Much as Britain is still dominated by Old Etonians (according to The Guardian, anyway) the Chinese Communist Party is often a family affair. Xi Jinping is referred to as a "princeling" - a slightly snarky term referring to Chinese politicians who have family connections in the Party.

2. He's a film buff. According to democratic cables released by Wikileaks, the 59-year-old new president loves Hollywood war films. There's no word yet on whether he's a Steven Spielberg fan or more a Kathryn Bigelow kind of guy. He's also apparently a basketball fan. We're already looking forward to the inevitable White House one-on-ones with Obama.

3. He once lived in a cave. To be precise, Jinping spent seven years in a "cave home" in Liangjiahe village, struggling with fleas and physical labour to "learn from the masses". That's not to say he's an outcast - he also lived in the Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party's walled compound in Beijing.

4. His wife is a pop-star (and an army general). Jinping's second wife, the glamorous Peng Liyuan is one of the best-known singers in China and regularly performs on TV and at lavish public events. However, anyone expecting a new Michelle Obama may be disappointed; Chinese politicians' wives tend to be shrouded in secrecy and rarely seen in public.

5. He's a big Americaphile. Jinping spent a few months in the Eighties living in Muscatine, Iowa, learning advanced farming techniques, so he's familiar with American life. His daughter is currently studying at Harvard university - something which surely bodes well for US-China relations. Whether he's as big a fan of Britain remains to be seen... 

Oliver Franklin

Oliver Franklin



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