Xi Jinping - short biography and track record. mother of the nation

Xi Jinping. Illustration: skanaa.com

Passion for the heir and the third presidential term in China

Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping seems to have decided to postpone the selection of China's next leader. It is possible that he will name his successor at the party congress, which will be held at the end of next year, or even after it. This will not only create tension in the Chinese elite, but will no doubt increase the rumors that the Chinese leader may try to extend the term of the country.

Comrade Xi promoted

The sixth in a row since Xi Jinping came to power at the end of 2012, the Plenum of the CPC Central Committee was held, as usual, behind closed doors. About four hundred members of the Central Committee gathered in a military hotel in the west of Beijing. For four days they solved the main problems facing the Celestial Empire.

In the opinion of the Chinese Communists, this is now the strengthening of discipline in the Party. The day before, Xi Jinping sent a clear message to his party members. He made it clear that he expected complete devotion and unquestioning obedience from nearly nine tens of millions of Chinese Communists. On October 21, shortly before the opening of the Plenum, the Chinese President spoke on central television at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Long March, a two-year march of the Red Army under the command of Mao Zedong. He called for the same devotion and self-sacrifice as many years ago: "In our today's Long March, we must strengthen the leadership of the party and insist on the strictest discipline!"
"Xi firmly believes that the party is the key and the only institution that can deal with the problems facing China," said the sinologist. Jude Blanchett, now living in Beijing and working on a book about Mao's legacy. “To realize the Chinese Dream, in her opinion, the full mobilization of all 89 million communists is necessary, not only in deeds, but also in thoughts.”

The CCP has faced many challenges and problems lately. In order to prevent the economy from slipping into recession, the government opened credit taps. However, tens of billions of yuan inflated real estate bubbles in several regions. The loans also threaten to add to the already huge debts of corporations and provincial governments. Xi's more energetic and aggressive foreign policy and his calls for patriotism have led to rising tensions with neighboring countries and the US.

The main result of the Sixth Plenum of the CPC Central Committee is that the Chinese Communist Party, apparently, has decided, albeit slowly and carefully, but to move away from the policy of collective leadership, which it has adhered to for the past 35 years. On the one hand, the resolution of the Plenum refers to the preservation of the principle of collective leadership in the party. On the other hand, it was supplemented by the strengthening of individual responsibility and, most importantly, the official appointment of General Secretary Xi Jinping as the "core" of the CPC leadership. Words in the Middle Kingdom mean a lot. Comrade Xi's new "title" means further strengthening and centralization of his power in the party and moving towards the main, apparently, goal - the sole leadership of the CCP and the state.

The term “pivot” does not imply any additional powers, but it does show Xi's potential rivals that he is above them, not next to them.

“Winning the title of ‘core’ leader means that Xi’s power is even stronger than it was before the Plenum,” says a sinologist from the University of Nottingham. Steve Tsang. “He has more power now than his two predecessors.”
The plenum also approved two documents on strengthening party discipline, Xinhua news agency reported. It's about on the tightening of the norms and rules of inner-party life under new circumstances, as well as on the revision of documents on measures and methods for checking violations of discipline in the direction of their tightening.

dangerous path

Xi Jinping wants to create a "rule cage" that should discourage the Chinese Communists from taking bribes and deprive them of such an opportunity. The main instrument for strengthening discipline in the Party is the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCPD), headed by Wang Qishan, an old and loyal ally of Xi Jinping. It was Xi's CCPD who entrusted the fight against corruption, which he declared war on immediately after coming to power four years ago. The commission has been given such powers that it is now feared like fire by dishonest members of the CCP. On the eve of the Plenum, Wang Qishan reported on the work done. Over a million bribe-takers and violators of party discipline have been punished in four years. In October, for example, courts imposed suspended death sentences on three former high-ranking party apparatchiks who received tens of millions of dollars in bribes.

However, by expanding the authority of the CCPD, Xi, according to some experts on China, has stepped on a dangerous path. "In a country with a history like China," New York University law professor and Chinese jurist told the Wall Street Journal. Fordham Karl Mintzner,“There is a big risk that once you start down the road, you never know when it will end.”

All of Xi Jinping's predecessors have fought corruption, but no one has fought it for so long and with such vigor. Such a policy causes some members of the CCP to fear the return of the dictatorial leadership of the Mao era. There are few open manifestations of discontent, but they do exist. Earlier this year, for example, a retired former businessman questioned Xi's calls for total media loyalty on social media. The "opportunist" was quickly expelled from the CCP, his comments were deleted, but a number of communists managed to publicly support his position. "How louder sounds party propaganda and calls for increased discipline, says Blanchett, “the more obvious that party members do not hear them or ignore them.”

The media, including state media, are forced to admit that the fight against corruption sometimes leads to almost paralysis of local authorities, because officials do not accept important decisions out of fear that they might be accused of corruption.

The fight against corruption is still popular with ordinary Chinese. A Pew Research Center poll this year showed that 83% of respondents in China consider corruption to be the most important problem facing the country. Two-thirds of the survey participants believe that the situation with corruption will improve over the next five years.

Observers, not without reason, have the impression that along with the fight against corruption, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is also fighting dissent in the party and clearing the way for Xi to unlimited power.

State media on the eve of the Plenum hinted at further centralization of President Xi's power. For example, on Monday, the official mouthpiece of the CPC Central Committee, the People's Daily, wrote that the party needs to strengthen its "core leadership" and that a country with a one-party system needs a powerful center of power to cope with the challenges it faces. This, as you might guess, is not about collective leadership, but about a strong leader.
The front page of the People's Daily also published an article this week stressing that the Celestial Empire would face the same unenviable fate as the Soviet Union once did if the CCP did not unite around the leadership.

In Chinese politics, "core" refers to the degree of individual responsibility that is not limited by time or other limits and rules. With regard to Xi Jinping, this word began to be used in China in December 2015. It then disappeared, leading political analysts to speculate that Xi met with serious resistance. His return to the pages of newspapers and magazines means that the resistance has been crushed and that the path to one-man leadership appears to be open.

Xi Jinping has become the fourth Chinese leader to be called "pivot". Before him, such were Mao, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

Most Chinese want, at least according to the Chinese media, for Xi to become the "core" leader of the nation in the image of Mao Zedong. For example, the People's Tribune magazine, published by the People's Daily newspaper, this week published the results of a survey of more than 15,000 people in the Celestial Empire. The magazine claims that respondents support calls for "strong, pivotal leadership."

"Xi Jinping's work as the General Secretary of the CPC and his special qualities have received the sincere and heartfelt approval of the vast majority of the Communists," the magazine writes, adding that all groups and strata of Chinese society are looking forward to further strengthening the authority of Comrade Xi with great impatience and hope.

This month, the main theoretical journal of the CPC Central Committee, Qiushi, called Xi the "pillar" of the party leadership and stressed that a strong leader is needed for China to become a superpower. In mid-October, the national CCTV channel aired an 8-episode documentary on the fight against corruption. The film also commends Xi's closeness to the people and his simple lifestyle, which are skillfully contrasted with the luxurious life of corrupt officials. For example, the authors claim that the Chinese leader's lunch consists of four simple meals and that he does not drink a drop of alcohol.

Conspiracy against the prime minister

Many sinologists, especially those outside China, have the impression that Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to reverse the decades-old handover scenario and postpone the announcement of a successor until at least the CCP Congress in a year. The reasons for this delay lie on the surface. Xi needs time to better test his candidates and choose the most worthy of them. The choice is complicated by the fact that this person must also be a devotee.

Although Xi Jinping's decision to nominate a successor will only be known at best at the end of 2017, the very suggestion that he might want to end the informal procedure and start a second term without an heir only adds to the fears of those who could fly to the top of the political Olympus of the Middle Kingdom or , on the contrary, fall down as a result of shuffling frames at the top. At the Plenum, preparations began for the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which will be held in the second half of next year and which will have to solve many important and complex tasks. One of them will be the approval of the new leadership of the country, which should come to power in 2022.

Now only one thing is indisputable - that Xi Jinping will receive a mandate for a second five-year term in a year. Everything else, regarding the transfer of power, will be shrouded in a veil of secrecy until the very end of the party forum. Comrade Xi, of course, benefits from this situation, because it gives him additional opportunities to get as many of his supporters into the new leadership as possible.

Major changes in the Chinese leadership are coming. Five of the seven members of the holy of holies of the Middle Kingdom - the Standing Committee of the Politburo must retire due to advanced age. In China, the unofficial age limit is 68 years. Thus, only the 63-year-old Xi and the 61-year-old Premier of the State Council will remain in the PC. Li Keqiang. The second level of the party elite, the more numerous Politburo, where almost half of the 25 leaders are due to retire, will also undergo significant changes.

A separate conversation about Premier Li Keqiang. This summer, rumors of a disagreement between Xi and Li broke the surface. Li Keqiang did not agree with Xi Jinping's economic policy and created a lot of confusion among officials who did not know whose orders to follow. There were no other signs of disagreement between the president and the premier, but it is clear that Xi managed to weaken the influence and authority of Li, whom he obviously sees as a competitor in the struggle for power.

This summer, by order of the President, the Chinese "Komsomol" was reorganized. The size and budget of the Chinese Communist Youth League, through which Li Keqiang and many of his supporters went through, were reduced.

Xi is rumored to want to increase the retirement period for PC members. This will be done in order to allow the main fighter against corruption, Wang Qishan, to remain in the highest echelons of power. They say that it is he who can replace Lee as prime minister.

By the way, raising the retirement age is not a rare thing in China. Party bosses used to work up to 70 years. Jiang Zemin lowered his retirement age by two years in 2002 when he needed to get rid of a rival.

limbo

Most often, the name of a potential successor becomes known by the beginning of the second term of the leader in power. With the two previous transfers of power, the name of the future secretary general was announced 5 and even 10 years before it. Achieving the consensus of the party elite necessary for his election is accompanied by a sharp behind-the-scenes struggle. The two previous general secretaries had to agree to the candidacies of heirs, whom they did not choose. However, Xi's very energetic anti-corruption campaign and the concentration of enormous power in the party and state in one hand have cast doubt on the idea of ​​​​collective leadership that seemed an axiom for the past couple of decades.

"Xi has pursued a policy of strong leadership since coming to power," explains a CCP historian at Melbourne's Monash University. Warren Sun. “Naturally, it is naive to expect that he will consider himself bound by some rules, moreover, unofficial ones.”

The delay in announcing the name of a successor will give Xi's minions time to prove their ability and loyalty, sinologists say. The more reliable the heir, the easier it will be for him to maintain power behind the scenes after retirement. The problem with Xi Jinping is that he has too few supporters of the right age, experience and devotion.
The delay in choosing an heir, which can be compared to a limbo for the Chinese elite, could create “serious tension” at the top in the next five years, says the president of the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies in Berlin Sebastian Hellmann. "The delay in announcing the name of a successor," he said, "could be seen as a veiled attempt by Xi to stay in power for a third term."

"This is a very sensitive issue," a source who spoke frequently with senior Chinese officials told the New York Times on condition of anonymity. “I don’t think Xi will want to make a decision until his favorites gain more experience and pass additional testing.”

The question of the succession of power has already become a kind of litmus test by which one can judge the ambitions of the current Chinese leader. When and, of course, who is elected will show to what extent Xi will be able to change the party's ideas of collective leadership, born after the death of Mao Zedong. The system of transfer of power in China has developed after a long period of political unrest. Its main goal is to help organize a predictable, stable and peaceful change of leadership in a one-party state. Any attempt by Xi to change this system would further bolster his already significant authority and power. On the other hand, however, it can introduce elements of instability into a very fragile balanced system.

“Xi Jinping has released forces that reveal wide range opportunities, - leads the NYT comment David Lampton Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies. - However, each of them contains risks and threats. The reality is that America's new president should be prepared to expand the spectrum of realities in China."

The risk of clashes with other senior officials and Xi's retired predecessors could still force him to name a successor next year. "Achieved on this moment Comrade Xi's power can cause discontent, - believes Susan Shirk, Chairman of the China in the 21st Century Program at the University of California at San Diego. “I don’t think Xi will want to further increase the risk of confrontation.”

It has long been known that making predictions about the transfer of power in the Celestial Empire is always an extremely thankless task. And yet ... If Xi is forced to name a successor, then one of the youngest members of the Politburo, a former minister Agriculture, and now the secretary of the party organization of Chongqing Song Zhenkai. But we must remember that Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping refused the successors they had already appointed, which caused instability in the party and society. Hu Jintao, on the other hand, was the officially chosen and approved successor for ten years. However, this did not help him to lead the team, which was dominated by people appointed by his predecessor Jiang, as general secretary.

Better to be first in a village than second in Rome

Of course, the name of the successor is very important, but even more intriguing to political scientists is the version that Xi Jinping will want to stay in power after the expiration of his second term in 2022. Under the Constitution, the presidency of the People's Republic of China cannot serve more than two terms. However, there are no restrictions on a much more important post - the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the PRC. There is, however, an unofficial limit - two terms of five years, which, like the collective leadership of the party elite, was introduced by Deng in the nineties of the last century to prevent the emergence of another lifelong dictator like Mao.

Xi may want to upgrade his status from first among equals to sole leader of the party. “Since the days of Mao, we have not seen such a consolidation and centralization of power as under Xi Jinping,” he commented to CNBC on the situation. Jeff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to China and now chairman and director of a Beijing-based consulting firm.

Xi Jinping has concentrated much more power in his hands than his predecessors, albeit not combined. He now personally directs the army and the economy and controls the vast majority of other levers of power through the transfer of decision-making to special committees, which he himself heads. As part of the fight against corruption, Xi asked Wang Qishan to simultaneously repress those officials and businessmen who deviate from the "party line", that is, are his potential or real rivals.

In vain or not, supporters of collective leadership are worried, time will tell. “Now he (Xi) is worried, of course, about the next autumn,” he says. Christopher Johnson, senior analyst at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington. “But even if he does not rush to announce an heir, this will not mean that he has decided to remain in power forever.”

Be that as it may, it is premature to talk about the final victory of Xi, experts say. “He undoubtedly won the decisive battle, but it’s too early to celebrate the victory,” I’m sure Minxin Pei, professor at McKenna College in Claremont. - Yes, his rivals or those who fear the coming to power of a leader who will not be restrained by the rules of collective leadership did not object to the new title. But giving a title and making decisive concessions on the transfer of power are not the same thing.”

"Xi has not yet become a truly strong leader," agrees Steve Tsang. put your allies in the highest positions."

Sergey Manukov, especially for

Xi Jinping has been in charge of China since the end of 2012. During these five years, he managed to make a real breakthrough, bringing China to one of the world's leading positions. Despite the fact that Xi Jinping was one of the "red princes" - that is, he came from a family of large party functionaries, he had to go through disgrace, hardship and hardship. Therefore, now the Chinese leader is surrounded by special honor as a native of the people and a simple worker. And although the image of the politician is somewhat romanticized, over the years of his reign, Xi Jinping has shown himself to be a real defender of his compatriots and a skilled leader.

Childhood and youth

The future Secretary General of the People's Republic of China was born on June 1 (according to some sources - 15) June 1953. His actual birthplace was Beijing, but many sources indicate that Xi Jinping is a native of Fuping County. The parents of the future leader of the PRC were representatives of the political elite of the state. Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongxun, was a hero of the 1927-50 civil war and a close associate of Mao Zedong, and his mother was one of the oldest members of the CCP. But soon the powerful family suffered a serious blow. In 1962, Xi Zhongxun, who has always been characterized by moderate political views, was deprived of his high posts and became a simple worker in a factory. During the era of the Cultural Revolution, he was accused of anti-government conspiracy and arrested. The arrest of the father influenced the future life of the whole family. In 1969, Xi Jinping, as the son of a traitor, was sent for "re-education" in a province far from the capital. There he was included in one of the many labor communes. Living conditions in such a commune were very difficult, but it was there that the future politician acquired the necessary experience and knowledge about the life of ordinary people.

In 1971, Xi Jinping joined the Komsomol and took his first steps in the political arena. Shortly after the young man received membership in communist party, he took the post of secretary of the local party organization.

In the early 1970s, the young man was rehabilitated and was able to return to Beijing. There he entered the Faculty of Chemical Technology of Tsinghua University, considered the most prestigious in the country. During his studies, the political situation in the country changed radically. After the death of Mao Zedong and the dispersal of the Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping, a supporter of liberal reforms and a moderate course, became the head of the Chinese state. Under Deng Xiaoping, many party functionaries who had been disgraced under Mao Zedong were rehabilitated. Xi Zhongxun was also released, who was not only able to return to normal life, but also to continue his political activities. The release of his father has given Xi Jinping new perspectives.

Political career

Already in 1979, Xi Jinping began working as a secretary at the Chancellery State Council China. Thanks to his talents and hard work, just three years later he was invited to the post of Secretary of the Minister of Defense. However, soon Xi Jinping got bored with working at the federal level, and he decided to move to the provinces. In 1983, he became the CCP secretary and commissioner of the People's Armed Militia in Zhengding County. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the region experienced rapid economic growth.

Since the mid-1980s, Xi Jinping's activities have been predominantly linked to Fujian Province. It was here that the young politician realized his first bold projects and gained his first fame. His main task was to develop the economy of the region. In order to better understand this issue, Xi Jinping even went to Iowa to learn the basics of agriculture. During his years in Funjian, Xi Jinping held the following positions:

• Vice Mayor of Xiamen;
• secretary of the local branch of the party;
• first secretary of the military district;
• provincial governor.

One of the main features of Xi Jinping's policy was direct contact with citizens. Under him, the practice of officials communicating with the people, filing complaints and considering them developed in Funjian. Faithful to communist ideas, Xi Jinping carried out a series of reforms in the province aimed at developing a market economy. He managed to attract considerable investments to the region and severely crack down on the largest corrupt officials.

In 2002, Xi Jinping began working in another province - Zhejiang. Here he also achieved great success in the economic and social spheres.

In 2006, a major corruption scandal took place in China, as a result of which the secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party was arrested. Xi Jinping was invited to take the vacant seat. His post was very honorable, since Shanghai is one of the most developed and major cities China. However, the ambitious politician did not stop there. In 2010, he became deputy head of the country - Hu Jintao - in all posts. It is not surprising that even then, many began to perceive Xi Jinping as the future head of state.

Despite the hard work, Xi Jinping continued his education. In 1998-2002, he was a postgraduate student in the direction related to the study of Marxist theory, and then became a doctor of law.

Xi Jinping as head of state

In November 2012, the 18th Party Congress was held in China, at which Xi Jinping was chosen as the new General Secretary CPC Central Committee. Having become the leader of China, the politician immediately implemented a number of bold projects. With him in China:

• There were conditions for the creation of private banks;
• Communication was established between the common people and the ruling elite: all major state organizations got their own websites, and the Chinese deputies got personal receptions;
• A full-fledged system of property insurance has emerged;
• The medical care of the population has been improved;
• There were benefits and subsidies for the disabled, orphans, low-income families and some other categories of the population;
• Some families were given the right to have another child;
• Foreign investment began to penetrate the domestic Chinese market;
• A number of reforms were carried out aimed at the development of tourism.

Under him, the daily life of major party functionaries also changed significantly. Xi Jinping insisted that the offices of officials be more modest and that government banquets be held on a smaller scale. The Chinese leader himself is often seen talking to fellow citizens or standing in line at a small shop.

At the 19th Party Congress held in October 2017, Xi Jinping was re-elected for a new five-year term. Among the main directions of its domestic and foreign policy are:

• Fighting the nuclear threat;
• China's entry into the list of advanced countries;
• Achieving harmony in international relations;
• Expanding the international trade network;
• Achieve universal average prosperity by 2021;
• Strengthening the vertical of power.

Xi Jinping is a politician based on a broad social base. On the one hand, as a hereditary representative of the party nomenklatura, he is supported by the old generation of Chinese communists and managers. On the other hand, his social policy is very attractive to ordinary Chinese. On the third hand, Xi Jinping's loyalty to expansion international relations and the development of a market economy have a positive effect on the popularity of the politician among big businessmen. However, outside of China, the head of the Central Committee of the party is often criticized. For example, many argue that officials accused of corruption under Xi Jinping were not just corrupt officials, but representatives of a hostile faction. Thus, the campaign against corruption in China turns into nothing more than an action to eliminate political opponents. Also, many condemn the increase in control over the World Wide Web, which began after the change of the general secretary.

But despite all this, today the Chinese leader is considered one of the most successful political leaders in the world. Among his fellow citizens, he is also highly respected. For his services, Xi Jinping received the honorary title of "pivotal leader." Before him, this title was held by such prominent figures of Chinese politics as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Also among the people, Xi Jinping was respectfully nicknamed “Big Daddy.”

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Xi Jinping married Ke Lingling, the daughter of a Chinese diplomat. Young people lived together for only three years, and then divorced due to disputes and disagreements. The second marriage of the Chinese leader was more successful. In 1987, he married popular Chinese singer Peng Liyuan. In addition to creativity, the wife of the Chinese leader devotes a lot of time social activities. In quite young age Peng Liyuan joined the PLA and is now a major general. She also collaborates with the World Health Organization and advocates for the promotion healthy lifestyle life. In his second marriage, Xi Jinping became the father of Xi Mingjie's daughter.

In his free time, the Chinese leader enjoys sports and cooking.

Xi Jinping is the Chinese state and political figure, the most powerful person in the world in 2017 according to Forbes magazine. current General Secretary Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee), Chairman of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Military Council of the PRC. In fact - the first face of the state.

Xi Jinping at the summit " Big Twenty" in St. Petersburg in 2013

Xi Jinping occupies several leading government posts at once, so in 2016 the party officially awarded him the title of "primary" leader. But more often, colleagues refer to Xi as China's "supreme leader." So soulful...

Not so long ago, the CCP Central Committee decided to change the country's Constitution. It was decided to remove the previously introduced restrictions on the presidency of the PRC and his deputy. It was - no more than two five-year terms in a row, it can become - indefinitely. This means that China is very satisfied with the way Xi Jinping works and no one wants to change it. If the plans do not change and the proposal is approved, the leader of China has every chance of becoming a life leader.

Biography

According to most sources, Xi Jinping was born on June 15, 1953 in Beijing ( in China they do not indicate the day and therefore there is no official data. The second most popular date is June 1).

Xi Jinping (left) with his brother and father, 1958

Xi Jinping is of Han ethnicity and is the third child in the family. Father - Xi Zhongxun (1913-2002) - in the 30s of the XX century, as they would say now, he worked in the team of Mao Zedong. And after the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he held various leadership positions.

Seemingly successful political career the heir is provided - Xi was lucky to be born one of the few representatives of the Taijidan clan - the so-called "party of princes". These are the descendants of the local elite - authoritative Chinese party leaders. That is why the childhood of the future head of KHP was well-fed and cloudless, but suddenly it all ended ...

For the next almost seven years, Xi allegedly was “at the very bottom”: the cave was his home, the criminal’s son slept on stones covered with a thin blanket, he got his own food and fought off fleas at night. Later, analyzing the biography of Xi Jinping and how people treat him, political strategists will note that it was this most difficult period that helped the head of the KHP win the respect and trust of ordinary people.

Career

Experts note that Xi Jinping worked hard and successfully: he loved innovation and hated corruption. The politician was and remains an active, ambitious and uncompromising person: in the provinces where Xi was sent, over time, there was a steady growth in almost all indicators: the economy, investment, tourism ... Of course, the regions transferred more money to the budget, which the party especially liked.

In 1998, Xi Jinping became a graduate student at the Faculty of humanities Tsinghua University. Specialty - "Marxist theory and ideological and political education." In 2012, having successfully completed a course of study and defended himself, he became a Doctor of Law.

The successful political career of Xi Jinping is largely connected precisely with the features of his character, and not with an elite origin - as is still believed in the world. For example, as a member of that same “party of princes”, the talented diplomat Xi united various groups of the Chinese elite around him - he enlisted their trust and support. Of course, this greatly helped him in building a political career.

General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Chairman of the People's Republic of China

At one time, experts from the Far East Branch Russian Academy Nauk analyzed the results of the first six months of the new chairman - they tried to assess how his slightly controversial decisions could affect relations with Russia.

Historian Viktor Larin noted that internal contradictions between political groups have escalated in the country, and therefore the new leadership of the PRC does not have a firm conviction in which direction to move - China is at a crossroads ...

Relations with Russia

Despite all the misgivings, Xi Jinping proved that relations with Russia are extremely important to him. Our country was the first he had as head of state. In addition, Xi was one of the few who came to Moscow on the day of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic war May 9, 2015.

— Our main task is to be friends forever and never to be at enmity, Xi Jinping said to Vladimir Putin that day.

The good relations between the President of Russia and the President of China are envied by many world leaders. It seems that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have long been not just colleagues - good friends at least.

• 2014 - Ukraine shook coup d'état and in power, not without the support of the United States, were the oligarchs. Putin and Xi Jinping jointly resist all attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of other states.
• 2014 - Russia signed the largest gas contract in its history with China. Over the next 30 years, Gazprom is committed to deliver $400 billion worth of blue fuel to China.

• 2015 - Vladimir Putin solemn parade in Beijing on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory of China in the war with Japan. Then the journalists noted that in the general photo, the Russian president occupied a place of honor - next to Xi Jinping.
• 2016 - the President of Russia came to China with a gift: a full box of ice cream for Xi Jinping - the news occupied the tops of most of the world's media for several weeks.

• 2017 - in Moscow, the President of Russia solemnly awarded Xi Jinping the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called for outstanding services in strengthening friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Russia and China.
• 2017 - during a visit to China, the President of Russia presented his colleague with a picture of amber and jade lamps. Xi Jinping responded by handing Putin a desk and a sculpture of a Chinese warrior.

Family

If you study in detail all the publications of Chinese journalists about Xi Jinping's personal life, it seems that the head of state is a real sex symbol of China: he is tall (height - 180 cm), balanced, decisive and ambitious ...

Xi Jinping before a meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Strelna.

Xi Jinping was married twice: his first wife, Ke Lingling, is the daughter of the Chinese ambassador to the UK. As people who are familiar with the situation now say, the marriage was difficult and therefore quickly fell apart. According to the Wikileaks.org portal, which refers to American diplomats, the father “lived in apartments in the prestigious western Beijing and almost all the neighbors knew them. The couple cursed almost every day, screams, crying, the sound of breaking dishes could be heard from behind the wall. As a result, a divorce and Ke moved to England.

The second wife of the politician - perhaps the most famous woman in China - is the singer Peng Liyuan. The future husband and wife met when Xi was not yet so popular, so at first people called him “the husband of the singer Peng Liyuan” - the woman was super popular.

Xi Jinping's wife is Peng Liyuan.

She is the head of the Academy of Arts of the People's Liberation Army of China, former leader Song and Dance Ensemble of the PLA, army general-major. The basis of Peng's repertoire is military songs, the words of which the whole country knows. According to political technologists, for Xi, in terms of conditional rating, this alliance is very successful. His other half is a Chinese superstar who is loved in every household.

Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Vnukovo-2 airport. The head of the People's Republic of China makes the first foreign visit to Russia.

In 1992, Xi and Peng had a daughter, Xi Mingze. According to some reports, now the girl is studying at Harvard University (USA) under an assumed name - so as not to draw attention to her person. True, there is a photo of the girl on the Internet, because those who communicate with her, for sure, perfectly understand who this person is.

Xi Mingze.

Xi Jinping, according to some reports, has sisters who live in Canada and Australia, and a brother - he is in Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg, all the relatives of the leader of the Celestial Empire are very rich - during a special investigation, journalists linked the Xi family with shares in companies worth $376 million, as well as 18% of indirect investments in a company for the extraction of rare earth metals and $20.2 million in investments in a public technology company. Hiconics Drive Technology.

Personal life

Xi Jinping himself tells a little about himself and his personal life. He likes to swim, conquer mountain peaks, plays basketball and football, sometimes he can box. He, like many Chinese, is a fan breathing exercises Qigong and Buddhism.

He rarely watches TV, mostly sports TV shows. Is reading. Russian literature is one of the most beloved - Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin. Writes. In 2013, the book “Xi Jinping on Public Administration” was published, in which the author described in detail the “comprehensive and deep reforms”, listing about 330 measures he had taken, including the fight against corruption and the improvement of the judicial system. The work predictably became a bestseller - it was translated into 22 languages ​​and published in millions of copies.

Xi Jinping and Xi Mingze's daughter.

Xi admits to reporters that it is very rare, but he still meets with friends: he can drink a glass, he cooks dumplings. In one of his interviews before his visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin told how he celebrated his birthday in the company of the Chinese leader. The heads of state allowed themselves to drink some vodka and eat sausage. At the entrance of his next visit to China, Russian President Xi has a luxurious bathhouse made from 200-year-old Siberian cedar.

BUSINESS Online experts on whether the Chinese leader looks like Putin and how the "tiger hunt" made him a ruler for life

Chinese President Xi Jinping was allowed to rule indefinitely: the Chinese parliament voted for such a decision on Sunday. Does the head of the Celestial Empire intend to become its new monarch and approve the “Red Dynasty”, against whom the anti-corruption campaign was directed in China, for which it was decided to proclaim “Comrade Xi” the coming Buddha and whether to expect a provincial war against the center in China - in the material "BUSINESS Online" .

Photo: Lintao Zhang / Staff / gettyimages.com

LIFETIME RULE FOR XI JINPING: TWO AGAINST, THREE ABSTAINED

Exactly by the end of the first presidential term Xi Jinping Chinese deputies presented him with a luxurious gift: they allowed him to rule indefinitely and for life. However, there are no such decisive words on paper, the official wording is much softer: the clause limiting the powers of the PRC President to two consecutive terms (5 years each) was simply excluded from the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. The post of chairman (zhuxi) itself was introduced Mao Zedong back in 1954 along with the Constitution itself. And now the stone Mao silently looks from the top of the hill above the quiet waters of the Xiangjiang River, where a 32-meter monument has been erected to him, at how his distant successor is actually trying on the crown of the Middle Kingdom.

The session of the Chinese parliament, here called the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), opened in early March in the presence of Xi Jinping. It was attended by 2158 representatives from all over the republic different regions countries, not only those invested with the party status of the CPC (Communist Party of China), but also non-partisan or consisting of any of the other eight political parties. Becoming a delegate to the NPC is considered a high honor here, so the selection was extremely tough. All the more so since the occasion required that only the best of the best, the salt of the Chinese nation, be in the hall. Only such people could consider amendments to the Chinese Constitution, which has not changed since 1982.

The fundamental amendments were adopted on March 11, 2018. The curse of "two terms" was eliminated almost unanimously: only two of the congress delegates voted against, and three abstained. The names of these brave madmen did not get into the press, and there was no need for this: after all, more than 2 thousand people, representing 1.5 billion Chinese with their deputy mandates, expressed full confidence in Xi Jinping. Now, as all world news agencies write, he will be able to rule the Celestial Empire for as long as he wishes. According to the abolished norm, he was obliged to resign in 2023, after the expiration of his second term.

Observers are left wondering why Xi Jinping needed this. After all, in addition to the position of "zhusi", he traditionally concentrates in his hands the posts of general secretary and chairman of the CCP's central military council, where there are no time limits at all. For example, Mao Zedong served as chairman of the PRC for only one term (from 1954 to 1959), but this did not prevent him from being a lifelong party “zhuxi” and ruling the country until his death in 1976. However, the political reality and the risks associated with it are now completely different, and what the great Mao, the reformer Xi, most likely would not have been forgiven for.

What did the current chairman of the PRC lack? "Mandate of Heaven", which was once issued to all Chinese emperors? But from the "amendments to the Constitution", no matter how decisive they are, to the "favor of heaven" is still very far away. Then, perhaps, he lacked "his Medvedev"? Indeed, Xi Jinping does not yet have a reliable “locum tenens” to create a “tandem” on the model of the Russian one, which would help masterfully bypass the norm in two presidential terms. Although for this role - Vice President of the PRC - The New York Times newspaper not so long ago read Wang Qishan, head of the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. It is Wang Qishan who is considered responsible for the campaign against corruption, which has already led to tectonic shifts in the political elite of the People's Republic of China.

However, both 64-year-old Xi Jinping and 69-year-old Wang Qishan still have everything ahead. The updated Constitution gives them the broadest powers, and their age by the standards of the Chinese beau monde is just mature enough to take responsibility for the most drastic changes.

Photo: Kevin Frayer / Stringer / gettyimages.com

HUNTING FOR "TIGERS": ABOUT A MILLION CORRUPTIONERS CONVINCED, CASH IS EXPORTED BY TRUCKS

The formidable Wang Qishan, at whose name the highest-ranking party bosses in China now tremble, was in the past a modest employee of a museum in Shaanxi province, a historian by education. There are legends that when he headed the party discipline commission in 2012, he ordered all his employees to study the book Alexis de Tocqueville about the French Revolution and write a review of why the Bourbon dynasty fell in France in the 18th century. The conclusion from the book suggested itself: because of the flashy luxury and total theft of the "first estate". By that time, the Party caste had long since become the “first estate” in the PRC. That's what the former museum archivist took up to prevent the fall of the "red dynasty" in his country.

Xi Jinping officially announced the fight against corruption. It was he who put forward the slogan: "Either the Communist Party will defeat corruption, or corruption will defeat the Communist Party!" Moreover, he solemnly vowed that if before the party was hunting for "flies", now we will hunt for "tigers".

In total, the CCP, according to official figures, consists of about 90 million Chinese. Most of them, according to the above-cited definition of "zhuxi", are "flies", who have been arrested on a sufficient scale before. But Wang Qishan took aim at bigger officials. As a result, since 2014, about 1 million officials have already been convicted in the PRC, including 109 ministers or those whose status is equated to a ministerial position. One of those who underwent a high-profile arrest followed by a life sentence was Zhou Yongkang, former Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China and member of the Standing Committee of the Party's Politburo. He was accused of "serious violation of party discipline, accepting large bribes, revealing party and state secrets, as well as adultery with several women." In total, the police seized about 90 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in assets from Zhou Yongkang and his relatives. According to media reports, cash was taken out of the former minister's house by trucks: two cars were given over to the cash, one - for gold jewelry and one more - for jade products.

Zhou Yongkang's arrest was only part of the New Gang of Four's case. In addition to a member of the Politburo, a former Minister of Commerce of China was also arrested in this case. Bo Xilai, Former Head of the Main Department of the CPC Central Committee (Chancery of the CPC) Lin Jihua and Vice Chairman of the Military Council of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the PRC Xu Caihou. The latter could not withstand the pressure of the investigation and died in 2015.

As a result, in China, according to media reports, sales of luxury goods, luxury apartments and expensive cars fell sharply: officials stopped buying all this, fearing accusations of corruption. At the same time, Wang Qishan's anti-corruption campaign was supported by an overwhelming number of ordinary Chinese. Moreover, in everyday life, both Xi Jinping and his formidable overseer of party discipline demonstrated emphasized modesty and asceticism. The official salary of both the President of the People's Republic of China and the head of the Party Disciplinary Commission is only 10,000 yuan ($1,600).

The big purge in the party helped Xi Jinping not only gain popularity among the people, but also solve the issue of factional infighting within the CCP. It is said that he no longer has reason to fear that his power could be seized by a rival party clan, sometimes called the "Komsomol" party - as opposed to the "princes" party, to which Comrade Xi belongs as a descendant of a nomenklatura family. The outward expression of the victory of the "princes" was the lifelong extension of the powers of the "zhusi" at a special congress of the Chinese parliament.

Putin suggested not to judge Xi Jinping indiscriminately, because “one must remember that one and a half billion people live there (in the PRC), and in general, “the Chinese people themselves and the leadership know best how to do this” Photo: Pool / Pool / gettyimages.com

"COMMON PEOPLE SAY SI JINPING IS A LIVING BODHISATTVA"

However, the fight against corruption in China is far from over, as Wang Qishan likes to say. This is probably also why two terms are not enough for Xi Jinping to secure his victory over rival party clans. In addition, he intends to creatively develop the teaching Deng Xiaoping about "socialism with Chinese characteristics". On March 11, the corresponding postulates were also introduced into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as amendments.

In the global world, in which the modern Celestial Empire claims leadership, they reacted surprisingly mildly to Xi Jinping's innovations. Having learned about the forthcoming amendments to the basic law of the PRC, the President of the United States Donald Trump only sighed enviously: “Now he ( head of china — approx. ed.) is chairman for life. He was able to do it. Maybe we should give it a try sometime.”

And here Vladimir Putin did not envy his "friend Xi". Answering questions from an NBC reporter Megan Kelly that, they say, Putin would have done the same, the President of the Russian Federation replied with restraint, as befits a professional lawyer: “There is a Constitution. I never violated the Constitution and never changed the Constitution. So I will work within the framework of the Basic Law of Russia. Of course, if the voters give me such an opportunity to work for another term, I will work, of course, with full dedication of my strength.”

Putin suggested not to judge Xi Jinping indiscriminately, because “one must remember that one and a half billion people live there (in the PRC), and in general, “the Chinese people themselves and the leadership know best how to do this.”

As for the Chinese people, who "know better", it seems that they are already ready to proclaim their "zhusi" a living bodhisattva and future Buddha (in the coming rebirth, as Buddhists believe). The fact that Xi Jinping is a bodhisattva, practically a holy man, whose entire will is aimed at helping people, was announced on the eve of Buddhist Tibetans living in China's northwestern province of Qinghai. As the media emphasize in this regard, this is the very province that is the birthplace of the “political exile” of the Dalai Lama, and this gives additional weight to the popular myth launched in the media. Especially since it was voiced by a man named Wang Guosheng, invested not with the dignity of a Buddhist monk, but with the post of secretary of the provincial party committee. "Ordinary people in pastoral areas say that only Xi Jinping is a living bodhisattva," news agencies quoted Guosheng as saying. It is symbolic that the secretary of the party committee made his statement at the session of the National People's Congress - the same one that granted the chairman of the PRC lifetime powers.

Photo: Win McNamee / Staff / gettyimages.com

"PRINCES" AGAINST "KOMSOMOLTS": WHOM SI JINPING DECIDED IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT

Whether yesterday's decision of the Chinese parliament will be a signal for the restoration of the monarchy in China, against whom the anti-corruption campaign is directed in the Celestial Empire, and whether this is fraught with conflicts and social unrest in the country itself, BUSINESS Online asked its experts to answer.

Evgeny Minchenko- political scientist, president of the communication holding "Minchenko Consulting":

A monarchy is not a monarchy, but I think that this decision is probably dragging China into a kind of personalistic regime, because today Xi Jinping has already surpassed Deng Xiaoping in terms of the volume of party documents. In fact, today Xi Jinping has built the party apparatus and power structures for himself, very actively using the anti-corruption campaign, which, in general, may remind us of something.

I think this, of course, creates certain risks for the effectiveness of the Chinese government. In my opinion, the model of guaranteed replacement of the board of directors, in general, had its obvious positive aspects.

If we talk about possible unrest within the PRC, then, I think, people there are more interested in economic issues, and not in the issue of liberal freedoms. Therefore, this is unlikely to lead to any unrest.

Alexey Makarkin- political scientist, deputy director of the Center for Political Technologies:

- The position of the President of the People's Republic of China does not imply, as in a monarchy, the transfer of power from father to son. And even when Mao Zedong was in power, there was no monarchical principle. His successor was chosen at the party plenum. Therefore, it is not a monarchy. There is an oligarchy in China, it relies on the most successful coastal provinces, and there is the rest of the country, which in its development is very far behind these coastal provinces and Shanghai in the first place. Accordingly, Comrade Xi relies heavily on the rest of China, and not just on Shanghai, where people were quite happy with such a change of leadership.

What's next is hard to say. Xi Jinping himself, I think, needs this in order to implement the plans that he has. He has a lot of them. Apparently, if the two previous leaders - Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao - were chosen as compromise figures, Xi, apparently, has higher ambitions. These ambitions are to strengthen the role of China in international politics in order to even out the economy of the country, which now lives at very different speeds, if possible. And for all this, from his point of view, much more time is required.

It can be seen that the oligarchic system is too tight for Xi Jinping, he carried out an anti-corruption campaign under this flag, dealt with his opponents - for the first time in the history of modern China after Maoism. For the first time, a member of the standing committee of the Politburo, one of the representatives of the super-elite, was convicted. Thus, Xi Jinping demonstrates that he is a different type of person, a different stock. But the oligarchy is not going anywhere. And there is collective leadership. And because Xi can run for as long as he likes, he has not formally gained powers.

Therefore, he also has a rather difficult life ahead of him. If the will of the monarch is the law, then Xi Jinping will have to negotiate with the oligarchy on many issues. Therefore, I do not see something big like the Cultural Revolution ahead. He will have to negotiate with the same people from Shanghai and other regions. I think that the Chinese oligarchy last word didn't say at all.

Kirill Kotkov-historian, sinologist, writer:

- In fact, China has been a monarchy for a long period, so the Chinese have historically become accustomed to the fact that the ruler rules for many years. Moreover, even Mao Zedong was the same emperor, only red. And he was in power from 1949 to 1976. After Mao died, the new leaders of China (and, above all, Deng Xiaoping, who was not formally the head of state, but stood behind those who came to power after Mao) decided to significantly reduce the term of office of the PRC chairman. Since then, we see in the history of China rulers who have been in power for an average of 10 years.

What makes Xi Jinping different from his predecessors? The Chinese Communist Party is formally united, but in reality, like any other such structure, it is still factional. It’s just that these factions never had official names, but everyone knew that, for example, Hu Jintao represented the so-called Komsomol members, and Xi Jinping represented the Taijidan Party, or the Party of Princes.

"Princes" are people whose fathers and grandfathers held prominent positions in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, that is, they were first-generation revolutionaries. The same Xi Jinping is the son of a major party leader who "lit up" back in the 30s-40s of the 20th century. He was not in the highest echelon of power, but, as they say, he hung around. And these people, who are hereditary leaders, are called the "party of princes" in China. Both Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, representing various factions within the CCP, nevertheless lived on their own and let others live. And their internal party policy is a balancing act between various regional elites. Xi Jinping is very different from them. Having come to power, he decided to put an end to this factionalism. And it is well known that under Xi Jinping, the fight against corruption unfolded, when all corrupt officials were pressed and tightened the screws. Corruption did take place and does take place, but the essence of this struggle was not only to suppress corruption. Xi Jinping decided to remove all these factions. And, as the last congress of people's representatives showed, he succeeded to a large extent. Therefore, the fact that the Constitution was changed is a logical step after the last congress of the National People's Congress of China.

Xi Jinping has set the stage for this. He was left alone. Is this good or bad? Here, as they say, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if a leader stays up late, as we can see in other countries, this causes rejection and discontent among people. But if this leader can provide everyone with an adequate standard of living and, figuratively speaking, put a thousand dollars in the teeth of everyone, then the people will probably be quite loyal to such a leader. Moreover, a period of 4-5 and even 10 years is often not enough to resolve certain issues. In this sense, Xi Jinping has been given carte blanche.

On the one hand, Xi Jinping is predictable. And we know what kind of policy he is pursuing - primarily internal. On the other hand, this is a definite throwback to the era of Mao Zedong. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the ideology of Xi Jinping in China was officially proclaimed as an ideology. So to some extent, Xi Jinping is bringing China back to the Mao era. But already another Mao. This is modern Mao, with modern technologies, this is the Mao of the 21st century.

“IN CHINA THERE IS ALWAYS THE BOMB OF SEPARATISM. THEY NEED STRONG POWER»

Maxim Kalashnikov— futurist:

“This decision by the Chinese elite is a major challenge. Contradictions in the development of the country, the threat of an economic crisis, the difference between rich and poor regions, corruption in ruling elite have reached such dangerous proportions that not even dictatorial, but imperial power is being introduced in China - although China has always been an imperial country. Only for the last 20 years they have had a norm in limiting power to two terms. Before that, there was no such restriction. The population is not adapted to Western liberal democracy. All traditions are monarchical. The scourge of China is periodic peasant wars with dire consequences. Grassroots uprisings can be traced throughout the history of the country. But the rebels were also monarchists. As a result of the peasant wars, new monarchs were elected.

Remember how Xi Jinping came in 2012... His constant refrain is "we can repeat the fate of the Soviet Union, we can fall apart..." Remember how he began to suppress the opposition. Now he faces a huge task in terms of scale - to lead China out of the current contradictions and crisis. The consequences of the current decision can go along two trajectories. If Xi Jinping manages to create an effective monarchy, relying on expert bodies and creates feedback, it is quite possible that he will lead the country out of the crisis, and it is possible that then a 10-year rule limit will be introduced again. If it won't feedback If the pyramidal state apparatus remains irresponsible and dependent on the monarch, then China will begin to rot. He can't handle the challenge. Will new explosion. Social unrest is possible because the difference between the north and the south is huge, they do not even understand each other in conversation.

There is always a separatist bomb in China. Therefore, they need strong power. Look at their corruption problem. This is a terrible misfortune that leads to the collapse of the country. The fight against it is carried out mainly from above and there are costs, the root is not destroyed. You plant one, others come. Like a hydra's heads begin to grow, although the Chinese state apparatus is much more businesslike than in the Russian Federation. Main criterion success in the fight against corruption is economic development country, the solution of its internal problems, the resolution of contradictions. You have to judge by the end result. As far as relations with other countries are concerned, China has never been at odds with either the US or the EU over democratic values. The latest modernization, which began in 1978, was carried out in a brutal and authoritarian manner, until the uprising on Tiananmen Square was drowned in blood. There were no sanctions or strong pressure for political reasons. Americans have always needed China as a business partner. But I foresee a conflict with the United States on the other side. Trump starts a global trade war and effectively ends the WTO. He returns to the new 30s of the last century, when the world was divided into blocks and empires. This is where the conflict is really real, as the US no longer wants to enrich China.

Eduard Limonov- writer, politician, chairman of the executive committee of the coalition "Other Russia":

- China is not well known to everyone, including me. We can only guess. One of the Chinese regime's boasts was the bloodless transfer of power from generation to generation. And now nothing like that is expected. We are in a complete fog. But that doesn't mean anything. Because we are used to judging by Western standards. Change of power is good. And the irremovability of power long time- bad. But in fact, it is necessary to evaluate in terms of efficiency - how much the government promotes the country, makes it weaker or stronger. And we don't know what Xi Jinping will do. I saw him on the "box" when he came to America. Such an unflappable Confucian healthy Chinese. As for possible conflicts with the US, the Americans can only sit and howl. They even with North Korea couldn't cope. And if I were the Chinese, I would deeply despise the opinion of the United States, which lives with the idea that everyone is used to it, that they are strong and everyone worships them. But actually it is not. China is already ahead of the rest. This is a powerful country. And Xi Jinping may wish well for his people.

Alexander Minkin- MK browser:

“Until Xi Jinping passes the country on to his son, it’s pointless to talk about the monarchy at all. Monarchy is not only a system of government, but also a form of transfer of power. No elections.

Unrest in China is out of the question. There, no one forgot the tanks on Tiananmen Square, where hundreds of protesters died in 1989. No matter how China behaves in foreign policy, everything is very tough inside. The fact that there will be no unrest is also indicated by the results of the voting: out of three thousand, only two voted against.

There will also be no conflicts with other countries because of this decision. Neither America, nor Europe, nor Russia - no one is interested in how power is structured in China. Everyone is only interested in their industrial and military potential. What language they speak, what books they read, what they dance, what they sing - it does not matter.

You ask: why does Xi Jinping need this? But instead of thinking about the mysterious Chinese soul, think about why Putin, through Medvedev's hands, increased his term from four to six years and, in fact, is going to a fifth term. Why would he? The analogy is clear.

Outside of China, the name Peng Liyuan is known to few. If she is mentioned in the press, then, basically, only as the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, for the Chinese themselves, Peng Liyuan means about the same as Alla Pugacheva for the Russians. And even more - after all, she is not just a super-popular singer, but also a trendsetter, and even almost an army general.

For the second year in a row, the spouse of the President of the People's Republic of China has been included in the Forbes magazine's annual rating of "The Most powerful women peace." Another list consisting of 100 names was published at the end of May. In it, Peng Liyuan was in the company of Angela Merkel, Michelle Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Lady Gaga and other celebrities.

Dream come true

It seems that the official propaganda of the PRC considers Peng Liyuan's hit on the pages of Forbes not as part of a global trend of strengthening female leadership, but as a purely Chinese phenomenon, one of the examples of the "great national revival". If Peng Liyuan has a modest 57th place in the Forbes rating, then in her homeland she occupies a leading position “in the women's standings”. It is no coincidence that Chinese Internet users very often refer to Peng Liyuan as "gomu", which can be translated as "mother of the nation".

None of the wives of the last leaders of the PRC - Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao - were awarded such a "title". The spouses of Xi Jinping's predecessors have been in the shadows most of the time. Few people were interested in their views or the details of their biography. They never gave interviews, and modest and inexpressive outfits in which the "first ladies" appeared during rare exits into the world, never aroused admiration among fashionistas.

Peng Liyuan, on the contrary, has become a clear embodiment of the "Chinese dream". Dreams of strong power, declaring itself brightly, on a large scale and modern, but at the same time remembering its former greatness, not losing its roots, and not copying foreign models.

Even the creation of the family of Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan was in line with Chinese traditions, which prescribe to select life partners at the direction of parents and on the recommendations of relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. The “blind date” between Comrade Xi and the future first lady was organized by friends.

For Xi, this alliance was the second. There is little information about his first family, it is not even clear how long this marriage lasted - either two or three years. Xi Jinping's first wife was a daughter former ambassador China in the UK. They say that the reason for the divorce was the desire of the young wife to go to study in the West, while Xi preferred to build a career at home. At the time of his meeting with Peng Liyuan, who was almost ten years his junior, the divorced Xi Jinping was vice mayor of the southern city of Xiamen.

The official biography of the establishment of the "state's first family" states: "Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan fell in love at first sight in 1986 and got married the same year. Although they often have to part ways due to work, they always understand and support each other and do their best to take care of each other.”

It is curious that Xi Jinping's colleagues in the city government only found out at the wedding that he was marrying famous singer. It was then jokingly said that the promising vice-mayor turned out to be the king of conspiracies.

Sweet lute singing

“She is like the sweet singing of a lute, capable of touching even soulless iron; like the flight of a dragon piercing the clouds. The heart joyfully responds to her, and together with the heart mountains and rivers, the moon and stars sing in harmony, ”this is how the writer Wei Yong described the ideal of the beauty in the 17th century.

Peng Liyuan's artistic career was predetermined by the fact that her father was in charge of a cultural center in Shandong Province. And her mother worked in the genre of traditional Chinese opera "yuju" in a small county troupe. Having received a secondary musical education on the advice of her parents, Peng Liyuan joined the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) at the age of 18. The career of an army singer opened up great opportunities. Musical and dance groups of the PLA, which are under the jurisdiction of the Main political management, were completed with first-class personnel, had a good rehearsal base and were well supplied. They were given the best concert venues and the opportunity to make good money during commercial tours. It remains to conquer the “soulless iron”, but this talented girl, who has an excellent soprano voice and who has mastered the skills of folk singing since childhood, succeeded in full.

As a soloist of the PLA Song and Dance Ensemble, Peng Liyuan enjoyed fantastic popularity in China. Without exaggeration, at one time Peng was more famous than her husband. Performer of patriotic and folk songs, she was a constant participant in the most popular program of Chinese TV - the annual gala concert, dedicated to the holiday Spring (new year according to the lunar calendar).

Her vocal art was known not only in China. Peng Liyuan's voice has been heard at many venues around the world, including New York's Lincoln Center and the Vienna State Opera. Numerous titles and diplomas are evidence of success. In the Western press, one can often read that Peng Liyuan has the rank of major general. In fact, in the army she is in the civil service, it’s just that her position and provision is equated to military rank general. But, nevertheless, strictly speaking, she is not a major general of the PLA.

Debut in Moscow

Peng Liyuan also performed in Moscow. So, on November 6, 2007, she entered the stage of the Kremlin Palace. At the closing ceremony of the Year of China in Russia, the singer performed a fragment from the opera Farewell, My Concubine. They say that initially another singer was listed in the concert program, but high politics intervened. As a result of the just concluded 17th CPC Congress, the issue of the leader of the "fifth generation" of Chinese leaders was resolved in principle. Xi Jinping became a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, and therefore the future "replacement" of Hu Jintao as Secretary General and Chairman of the PRC. Perhaps that is why Peng Liyuan went to Moscow, and thus the "diplomatic test" of the future first lady took place in Russia.

When Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow in March 2013 almost immediately after his appointment as Chinese President, Peng Liyuan had an equally rich program. She visited boarding school No. 15 for orphans and children left without parental care.

Naturally, not without military-musical contacts. Peng Liyuan met with colleagues from the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army. A.V. Alexandrov, who is well known in China. "Music knows no boundaries," Peng Liyuan said after listening to the impromptu concert, adding that she would be glad to see the ensemble on tour again in China. To confirm the love of the Chinese for Russian and Soviet song classics, Peng Liyuan, together with the choir and orchestra of the ensemble, performed the song "Oh, the viburnum is blooming." First verse on Chinese, and the second and third - in Russian.

First lady in focus

Peng Liyuan's first trip abroad in a new capacity was literally viewed under a microscope by the Chinese public. The Internet has been actively discussing how Xi Jinping's wife dresses elegantly. After the Moscow visit, several groups of Peng Liyuan fans opened on Chinese social networks. However, some of these online communities did not last long and were closed by censors. Conservatively minded party propagandists had great difficulty getting used to the fact that the wife of the top leader becomes the subject of public discussion. True, over time, discussions about the outfits and manners of Peng Liyuan became familiar. The decisive role, apparently, was played by the position of Xi Jinping - he repeatedly made it clear that it was time to break the dogmatic approaches to covering the activities of the authorities.

In addition, Peng Liyuan, by her behavior, only confirmed the political principles voiced by her husband. The modesty of an official and respect for people? The Internet is bypassed by a photo of Xi's wife, who, along with everyone else, is standing in line for a symphony concert. Need to support a local manufacturer? During a series of visits to Europe, Peng Liyuan demonstrates that he uses a Chinese smartphone Nubia Z5 mini (the price of this model is no more than $300). On the Chinese Internet, they write very approvingly that the magnificent outfits in which Peng Liyuan appears are created exclusively by Chinese designers. Is it necessary to equalize social disproportions and fight AIDS? Peng Liyuan participates in the rural school support program, and active participation China's first educational institution for HIV-infected children opened in Shanxi province. Need to support the victims of the devastating Sichuan earthquake? Peng Liyuan gave free concerts there, and Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan's daughter, Xi Mingze, volunteered at one of the small schools.

Peng Liyuan is the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for TB and AIDS, and is a well-known anti-smoking activist. She even took a picture with founder of Microsoft Bill Gates in red T-shirts with Chinese words about the dangers of passive smoking. It is clear that earlier such liberties were not allowed in the prim Chinese corridors of power. Now Peng Liyuan has something to talk about with the spouses of foreign leaders, many of whom are also actively working in the field of socially significant projects and charity.

soft power

There was a bit of a sensation during Xi Jinping's first trip to Europe. At the reception ceremony at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the Chinese leader and Peng Liyuan appeared in traditional Chinese costumes. Previously, the leaders of the Celestial Empire chose standard Western suits with a tie for such events. The traditional Chinese style of clothing was only allowed for wives.

In order to correctly understand what caused the choice of clothes of Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan at a meeting with the king of the Netherlands, it is worth remembering the first statements of the Chinese leader in his new post. Central location they were occupied with discussions about the "Chinese dream", about the revival of the Chinese nation. Of course, this policy also has an external aspect - the use of China's rich cultural traditions as an element of "soft power" to promote its influence in the world. In this direction, Peng Liyuan supports her husband like no other.

Together with offensive foreign policy With a gradual departure from Deng Xiaoping’s precept to “stay in the background”, the current leadership connects the new image of China abroad with a rethinking of the previous protocol restrictions, in particular the requirements for how the “first couple” should look and behave.