And his name is Xi Jinping. (Who did you think I meant?) China’s new president was appointed by what is now a seven member committee (it used to be 9), known as the “Politburo Standing Committee. This group of seven is the highest echelon of China’s power, all ruled by Communist party members. I guess the upside for them is they don’t have to deal with billions of dollars spent on political ads or all the mudslinging. The downside is that the control-freak communist government stays in power and the people have no choice over who is elected.
Xi Jinping was deemded to be a safe choice who wouldn’t go over the top with new freedoms for the Chinese people, a la Mikhail Gorbachev. Such a person could make moves that eventually lead to the fall of the Communist party such as what happened in Russia.
Xi (pronounced shee) has a wife who is a well-known singer in China. His daughter is studying at Harvard. This will be a contrast from Hu Jintao, who was reserved in style.
In his acceptance speech, Xi promised to deal with corruption (an ongoing problem in Chinese society, and provide their people with improved education, increased incomes, a stronger social safety net, and improved environmental protection.
It will be interesting to see how the US-China relationship plays out in the months ahead, with election-aftershocks in the U.S. where people are still murmuring for “tough action against China for being a currency manipulator.”
And his name is Xi Jinping. (Who did you think I meant?) China’s new president was appointed by what is now a seven member committee (it used to be 9), known as the “Politburo Standing Committee. This group of seven is the highest echelon of China’s power, all ruled by Communist party members. I guess the upside for them is they don’t have to deal with billions of dollars spent on political ads or all the mudslinging. The downside is that the control-freak communist government stays in power and the people have no choice over who is elected.
Xi Jinping was deemded to be a safe choice who wouldn’t go over the top with new freedoms for the Chinese people, a la Mikhail Gorbachev. Such a person could make moves that eventually lead to the fall of the Communist party such as what happened in Russia.
Xi (pronounced shee) has a wife who is a well-known singer in China. His daughter is studying at Harvard. This will be a contrast from Hu Jintao, who was reserved in style.
In his acceptance speech, Xi promised to deal with corruption (an ongoing problem in Chinese society, and provide their people with improved education, increased incomes, a stronger social safety net, and improved environmental protection.
It will be interesting to see how the US-China relationship plays out in the months ahead, with election-aftershocks in the U.S. where people are still murmuring for “tough action against China for being a currency manipulator.”