Understanding China's Global Ambitions Part 3: Xi Inspires Hypervigilance on the World Stage

China's increasingly erratic foreign policy has confused and alarmed outside observers for years. Here, we explore the reasons behind this shift.

Xi’s rise to to the apex of Chinese politics fundamentally changed the country’s foreign policy in under a decade. Image source

---

Paid subscribers gain exclusive access to the audio version of this article. Check it out here!

For other parts of this series, please see:

Part 1 / Audio Version

Part 2 / Audio Version

Part 4 - Coming soon!

---

March 13, 2013. Over ten thousand representatives from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gathered in Beijing's Great of the People for the Two Sessions. At this annual meeting, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deliberates on decisions affecting governance on the national level, although the party's real power players agree on such matters months in advance at their summer retreat in Beidaihe, a coastal resort town 300 kilometers east of the glittering, palatial chamber emblazoned in crimson and gold. The 2013 Two Sessions was more significant than most as the party's top powerbrokers had decided on a new president to lead the country. A man named Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping's meteoric rise through the party ranks received national and global attention when, as Vice President, he oversaw preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In Xi’s youth, Mao's Cultural Revolution resulted in the brutal persecution of his entire elite family. He characterized his subsequent political career with a prudent approach to the ever-shifting party line. During his rise, he gained a reputation as a humble public servant, focusing on popular causes such as environmental conservation and remedying the actions of corrupt predecessors. Today, some of the country's most impressive urban parks exist in cities such as Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian, where Xi spent most of his early political career. In essence, Xi was a man with a reputation for doing good things relatively quietly while remaining steadfastly loyal to his superiors. The people who chose him for the highest office in the land could not have known what plans he had in store for them.