Admission to Tsinghua is highly competitive. The majority of selected students are national scholars and among the brightest high school graduates in the country. Many of China's top scientists, engineers, politicians and business leaders are among Tsinghua alumni. The former Chinese leader (2002-2012), Hu Jintao, is a former Tsinghua student who graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1964. The current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (since 2012), Xi Jinping, is a former Tsinghua student who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1979.