Central Military Commission '' of Minister of National Defense
Geng Biao After graduating from
Tsinghua University in April 1979, upon the recommendation of his mother
Qi Xin, Xi was assigned to the
General Office of the State Council and the
General Office of the CCP Central Military Commission, where he served as one of three
mishus to
Geng Biao, a member of the
CCP Politburo and
Minister of Defense. Xi had a monthly salary of ¥52 yuan. He participated in central meetings and decision-making, dealt with regional and foreign affairs, and became familiar with the handling of central documents, including confidential ones. Xi worked to inspect the armed forces, draft documents, and oversee Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan affairs together with Geng. He additionally often accompanied Geng Biao to visit foreign countries. In May 1980, Xi accompanied Geng to visit the United States, including
the Pentagon and the
White House, where a Chinese delegation was shown a screening of
The Empire Strikes Back. The Chinese delegation also toured the
Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier.
Hebei In 1982, Xi proposed that he return to the "base levels" to "temper" himself. Xi said he preferred to go to
Pingshan County, Hebei, where Xipaipo is located; however, he decided against it after he was told factionalism there was "explosive". On 25 March 1982, Xi was appointed deputy party secretary of
Zhengding County in Hebei, meaning he was "sent down" from Beijing. He quickly learned that it was very poor, with the average annual income was only 148 yuan in 1981. Together with Lü Yulan (), the other deputy party secretary of Zhengding, Xi wrote a letter to the central government addressing the excessive requisitions that burdened local farmers. Their efforts successfully convinced the central government to reduce the annual requisition amount by 14 million kilograms. Xi also set up a pilot project for the
household responsibility system in one of the poorer communes despite reservations from some in the local leadership. In 1983, Zhengding adjusted its agricultural structure, leading to a significant increase in farmers' incomes from 148 yuan to over 400 yuan in 1984, thoroughly solving the county's economic issues. In 1983, Zhengding was the first county in Hebei to formally introduce the household responsibility system with land contracts lasting for five years or longer. This allowed Zhengding to escape its reputation as a "high-yield but poor" county. He became the secretary of the CCP Zhengding County Committee in July 1983, the restoration of the
Longxing Temple, the formation of a tourism company, and the establishment of the Rongguo Mansion and Zhengding Table Tennis Base. He also persuaded the China Teleplay Production Center to set the filming base of
Dream of the Red Chamber in Zhengding and secured 3.5 million yuan to build Rongguo Mansion, which significantly boosted the county's tourism industry, generating 17.61 million yuan in revenue that year, and bringing half a million tourists in 1985. Additionally, Xi invited prominent figures such as
Hua Luogeng,
Yu Guangyuan, Pan Chengxiao to visit Zhengding, which eventually led to the development of the county's "semi-urban" strategy, Xi also oversaw that a large conference room of the CCP to be transformed into a retired cadre activities room, as well as arranging several beneficial policies for retirees. He oversaw various economic policies such as promotion of village and township enterprises in food processing, doubling their value, allowing cadres to hire workers on contracts to replace life tenure, and initiating an economic and social plan. He also oversaw refurbishment of unsafe schools with furniture and playgrounds and resolution of salary problems for private school teachers. Regarding Party building, Xi passed a resolution in 1983 to "oppose bureaucratism, [and] raise efficiency and leadership standards" and led a large-scale overhaul of rural party organizations by making them younger. house where Xi stayed with an American family during a 1985 agricultural visit to the United States. The home was turned into a museum decades later.In the beginning of 1983, the Young Cadre Bureau's assessment of Xi was mostly positive, calling him young, vigorous, resilient, and enterprising. In September 1984, during a briefing session chaired by He Zai, the secretary-general of the
CCP Central Organization Department, Xi Jinping's strategic vision and comprehensive understanding of Zhengding County's development were highlighted. He Zai, along with
Wei Jianxing, deputy head of the CCP Central Organization Department, communicated these findings to
Hu Yaobang, describing Xi as a leader with a strategic outlook and a strong alliance ideology between workers and peasants. In 1985, Xi participated in a study tour on corn processing and traveled to
Iowa, the United States, to study agricultural production and corn processing technology. He led a group of officials to Beijing to consult with economists and organized a group of around 1000 scholars and officials to research 21 topics including strengthening ties with Taiwan and the policy of a free-port-based SEZ. Xi also took the lead the implementation of the policy in which Xiamen would be granted province-level status, allowing it to directly negotiate with Beijing. From August, he oversaw the resolution for Yundang Lake's comprehensive treatments, and prepared
Xiamen Airlines, the Xiamen Economic Information Center, and the Xiamen Special Administrative Region Road Project. He first married
Ke Lingling in 1980, but the couple divorced just after three years. He then married
Peng Liyuan in Xiamen. In September 1988, he was appointed as the secretary of
Ningde before being elevated to head of the region. Ningde's economy was far worse at that time than that of Fuzhou and Xiamen. Xi condensed his work log and memories of his Ningde period into the book
Getting out of Poverty, and handled local poverty eradicating efforts and local CCP building projects. Xi encouraged Ningde officials to speak up, who were reluctant due to the city's poverty. He was nevertheless pessimistic about his prospects, saying he could not bring a miracle and that development must be slower. Ningde faces problems with corruption at the time, including officials using public money to construct expensive government houses, leading Xi to act; from January to September 1989, 2,000 officials were put under investigation. 441 were prosecuted, four houses were confiscated, five were demolished, and worth ¥700,570 yuan fines were given. After a trend of officials leaving their offices to start private businesses began in the 1980s, Xi warned officials to stop using their positions for private gain or resign if they wanted to go into business. Xi additionally ordered all officials from the prefecture down to the villages to visit the grassroots, carry out investigations, and resolve issues at that level without bringing them to higher levels. He was also credited with experiments in cultivating
Pseudosciaena crocea, which led to fish farms in Sanduao. The CCP Fujian Provincial Committee decided on 1 May 1990 to assign Xi to
Fuzhou City as the Municipal Committee Secretary. At the age of 38, Xi had become the youngest deputy provincial governor-level official at that time. Soon after taking office, Xi established a "leadership service receiving week", to resolve a long-standing land dispute. He also called on officials to implement the "Will act immediately" spirit. Xi maintained close ties with Hong Kong, visiting in August 1991 and again in April 1992. In February 1992 Xi endorsed the plan to turn Fuzhou General Construction Company into a joint-stock company to sell shares; the company was listed at the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1996. Following
Deng Xiaoping's 1992 southern tour, Xi oversaw the construction of the Fuzhou 3820 Project Master Plan, which outlines Fuzhou City's growth strategy for 3, 8, and 20 years. Xi oversaw the building of the Minjiang Delta economic region. In August 1994, Xi led a trade delegation to Germany and the United Kingdom to court European investment. From 1990 to 1995, under Xi's leadership, Fuzhou's GDP grew more than 20 percent each year, exceeding ¥100 billion yuan in 1990, ¥200 billion yuan in 1993, ¥300 billion yuan in 1994, and ¥400 billion yuan in 1995. There were also resettlements of 3,441 households, or nearly 10,000 shanty dwellers, in Fuzhou's Ceng Xia slums. He also concentrated on the development of
Changle International Airport, which opened in 1997. Xi negotiated with Hong Kong business tycoon
Li Ka-shing to rebuild the historic sections of Fuzhou; Li's initial phase of restoration had demolished many relics to make way for luxury homes, which led to criticism for Xi, though various remedies and refurbishments were executed afterwards. Xi was also involved in military affairs; in 1991, when Unit 73121 Army was moved from Lianjiang to Fuzhou, Xi helped unit members and their family members with obtaining the urban
hukou and helped enroll their children in quality schools. Xi also helped demobilized soldiers get employment and created hog farms for troops and chicken farms for the navy, while increasing spending and benefits for reserves. In October 1995, Xi Jinping was elevated to deputy secretary of the
Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In September 1997, he was elected as an alternate member of the
15th CCP Central Committee by the
15th Party National Congress. In 1998, he became a member of the
9th National People's Congress. As deputy party secretary, Xi was in charge of rural affairs. After learning villagers at Xiapu still lived in thatched huts, he persuaded the Fujian Provincial Party Committee to allocate ¥6 million yuan to build one thousand houses. Xi also planned to resettle all sampan dwellers on land by providing housing subsidies and access to long-term employment by granting ¥500 per yuan person and the prefectures and municipalities reducing land rent for construction and forestry to give equivalent of more than ¥5,000 yuan to each person. Of the 3,676 households totaling 16,706 people in 1997, all were resettled in new villages by 1998. Additionally, two thousand
She households were relocated clean water was provided to two hundred thousand She people. From 1990 to 1998, Fuzhou's GDP and revenue had grown an average of 12.6 percent and 28.5 percent each year. Approved foreign investment projects were more than 6,000, and foreign investment totaled US$6 billion. In 1999, he was promoted to the office of Vice Governor of Fujian, and became governor a year later. Xi proposed the concept of the Golden Triangle at Min River (). He also concentrated on the Min River Water Transfer Project, the Fuzhou Telecommunication Hub, and
Fuzhou Port, among others. He also focused on attracting Taiwanese and foreign investment, establishing Southwest TPV Electronics and Southeast Automobile in Fuzhou, and fostering
Fuyao Glass,
Newland Digital Technology and other manufacturing firms. Furthermore, he rehabilitated local cultural landmarks, including as the
Sanfang Qixiang in Fuzhou, advanced urban renewal initiatives, and effectively addressed the issue of poverty alleviation on
Pingtan Island. While in Zhejiang, Xi presided over reported growth rates averaging 14% per year. He visited every county to understand the local conditions. At an economic work conference in December 2004, Xi blamed economic problems on the "rough and ready" style of economic development which was high energy consumption, low efficiency, and low-tech production. Following the conference, measures were devised in 2005 to begin an overall transformation for 11 key sectors. Xi advocated that the government should reduce its administrative interference but also take a more active role in promoting economic growth. By 2006, he reduced the items subjected to administrative approval system from 3,251 to 856. In January 2003 Xi proposed the five "hundred billion" projects for the 2005–2009 period, which included ¥100 billion yuan each in the economy, informationization, science, education, health, and sports, ecological environment, and poverty alleviation. This included around 20 projects, with at least ¥10 billion yuan invested annually for each project, totaling around ¥3 trillion. During this period, Xi and Li drafted the
Double Eight Strategy, which listed eight comparative advantages of Zhejiang and eight corresponding actions to improve the province. Xi proposed that Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai jointly develop the
Yangtze Delta region by each drawing on their own strengths. Xi agreed to let Shanghai run the
Yangshan Port, allowing the project to continue. He promoted the integration of
Ningbo,
Zhoushan, and islands on the Zhoushan archipelago. He also promoted the
Hangzhou Bay Bridge. Xi also proposed that, given Zhejiang's economic development, ecological protection should be given priority, and tied the issue with decreasing the gap between rural and urban areas. In 2004, the Zhejiang government published a plan declaring a three-year war against environmental pollution. In 2005, Xi unveiled a recycling economy initiative to reduce, reuse, and decontaminate. In 2003, Xi became the first provincial leade to regularly go down to the grassroots to receive petitioners. He promoted the "
Fengqiao experience" to officially contain and resolve conflicts at the grassroots level without needing to involve higher legal bodies. Xi promoted private enterprise, calling them the "precious treasure" of Zhejiang. He also supported greater protection of private property. He increased research and development investment yuan from ¥5.6 billion yuan to ¥31.6 billion yuan in 2003. Under Xi, the number of large private companies had risen from 183 to 203 by the time he left. In 2005 and 2006, he participated and gave speeches at the Zhejiang Directors Association and Zhejiang Enterprise Confederation conferences. Xi visited several private enterprises, including
Geely, which he gave state support to. He also gave early support to
Jack Ma and
Alibaba Group. Under Xi, an increasing number of entrepreneurs joined the
Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress. During this period, Zhejiang increasingly transitioned away from heavy industry. In 2005, Xi encouraged the "Jump out of Zhejiang' policy, encouraging entrepreneurs to invest outside of Zhejiang. Starting from 2004, in line with central government policies, Xi started promoting slogans such as "Safe Zhejiang", "Rule of Law Zhejiang" and "Harmonious Zhejiang". Xi and the provincial leadership decided to spend more than 70 percent of government finance to "people’s livelihood" and pledge various quality of life measures. Xi also oversaw policies regarding the "floating population" by easing
hukou restrictions for rural migrant workers. Xi met with
Kuomintang leader
Lien Chan when he
visited mainland China. In 2004, after Houchen village established a "village affairs supervisory committee" to supervise the village government and to open up village affairs, Xi gave his approval, leading to their spread. In 2005, Xi endorsed an election model in Tangjiadai village where anyone could nominate themselves instead of requiring a previous nomination procedure. The Zhejiang provincial government also pioneered attempts to increase rural development, including by building "one thousand demonstration villages and fix up ten thousand villages" project in 2003. Xi's career in Zhejiang was marked by a tough and straightforward stance against corrupt officials. This earned him a name in the national media and drew the attention of China's top leaders.
Shanghai in 2007. Xi was appointed the city's Party Secretary following the dismissal of
Chen Liangyu due to a
social security fund scandal Following the dismissal of
Shanghai Party secretary Chen Liangyu in September 2006 due to a
social security fund scandal, Xi was transferred to Shanghai on 24 March 2007, where he was the party secretary there for seven months. On 30 March, Xi visited the historic sites of the first and second CCP National Congresses, visiting
Pudong the following day. In April, Xi undertook research tours that were focused on livelihood issues such as employment, healthcare, education, and housing. While in Shanghai, he worked on preserving unity of the local party organisation. He pledged there would be no 'purges' during his administration, despite the fact many local officials were thought to have been implicated in the Chen Liangyu corruption scandal. In Shanghai, Xi avoided controversy and was known for strictly observing party discipline. For example, Shanghai administrators attempted to earn favour with him by arranging a special train to shuttle him between Shanghai and
Hangzhou for him to complete handing off his work to his successor as Zhejiang party secretary
Zhao Hongzhu. However, Xi reportedly refused to take the train, citing a loosely enforced party regulation that stipulated that special trains can only be reserved for "national leaders". Xi also refused a three-story high British-style mansion at Xiangyang Road that measured 800 square meters that was given to him. On most issues, Xi largely echoed the line of the central leadership. He developed a reputation in his early career for avoiding controversy and not making political opponents.
Politburo Standing Committee Immediately after the
17th Party Congress, Xi was elected by the first plenary session of the
17th Central Committee to be the 6th-ranking member of the
Politburo Standing Committee on 22 October 2007. In addition, Xi became a member of the
17th Secretariat. He also led the
Central Leading Group for Party Building and the
Central Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Leading Group, as well as being the deputy leader of the
Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group. He was ranked above
Li Keqiang in the PSC, an indication that he was going to succeed
Hu Jintao as China's
next leader. This assessment was further supported at the
first session of the
11th National People's Congress in March 2008, when Xi was elected as
vice president of China. Following his elevation, Xi held a broad range of portfolios. He was put in charge of the comprehensive preparations for the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as well as being the central government's leading figure in Hong Kong and Macau affairs. In addition, he also became the
president of the Central Party School, the CCP's cadre-training and ideological education school. In the wake of the
2008 Sichuan earthquake, Xi visited disaster areas in
Shaanxi and
Gansu. In 6–8 July 2008, he visited Hong Kong, where he met with middle-class and grassroots families. At the 88th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party on 30 June 2008, Xi delivered a keynote speech. After the Olympics, Xi was assigned the post of committee chair for the preparations of celebrations for the
60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. He was also reportedly at the helm of a top-level CCP committee dubbed the
6521 Project, which was charged with ensuring social stability during a series of politically sensitive anniversaries in 2009; namely referencing to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 50th anniversary of the
1959 Tibetan uprising, the
20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, and the 10th anniversary of the
persecution of Falun Gong. in September 2008, Xi led an 18-month campaign to study the
Scientific Outlook on Development of Hu Jintao. In the same month, he gave a speech at the
Central Party School, where he said that the CCP's problem was that, since assuming power in 1949, it had not abandoned the role of a "revolutionary party" and that the confusion regarding the different roles of a revolutionary party and a ruling party had created conflict and would have a serious impact if not solved. In March 2009, Xi was assigned as head of a drafting committee to draft major document on party-building that was approved by the fourth plenary session of the
17th Central Committee in September 2009. Xi gave the keynote speech at a forum on the CCP's 88th anniversary on 30 June 2009. Xi was sent to Xinjiang from 17 to 21 July 2009, where conducted investigations of local communities, enterprises, schools, and oil and chemical projects. Following the
July 2009 Ürümqi riots, Xi was put in charge to restore order, aided by
Zhou Yongkang. In January 2010, Xi sent a personal cell-phone greeting to one million grassroots-level party branch secretaries and village chiefs on behalf of the Central Committee, saying "On behalf of the Central Committee of the Party, I am extending my cordial greetings to the nationwide grassroots party secretaries and college graduate village officials". On 7 March 2010. at a talk with a Hong Kong delegation, Xi said that as a unitary state, the autonomy enjoyed by Hong Kong was not inherent, and encouraged reform of the Hong Kong's political system. In April 2010, Xi visited Ürümqi for a second time, where he announced Xinjiang party secretary
Wang Lequan would be reassigned as deputy secretary of the
Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. On 18 October 2010, at the fifth plenary session of the
17th Central Committee, Xi was elected to be a vice chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission, followed by his appointment as vice chairman of the state CMC on 28 October by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. On 23 February 2011, Xi delivered the concluding speech at a symposium about innovative social governance. In 2011, Xi was attended an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" as the head of a 59-member delegation representing the central government. At the speech on 19 July 2011, Xi voewed to crack down on separatist activities by the
Dalai Lama “clique" and “completely destroy any attempt to undermine stability in Tibet and the national unity of the motherland." Xi's position as the apparent successor to become the paramount leader was threatened with the rapid rise of
Bo Xilai, the
party secretary of
Chongqing at the time. Bo was expected to join the PSC after the
18th Party Congress, with most expecting that he would try to eventually maneuver himself into replacing Xi. Bo's policies in Chongqing inspired imitations throughout China and received praise from Xi himself during Xi's visit to Chongqing in 2010. Records of praises from Xi were later erased after he became paramount leader. Bo's downfall would come with the
Wang Lijun incident, which opened the door for Xi to come to power without challengers.
Diplomacy in Tokyo. Xi made his first foreign trip as vice president to North Korea, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Yemen from 17 to 25 June 2008. In February 2009, in his capacity as vice president, Xi embarked on a tour of Latin America, visiting Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Malta, after which he returned to China. On 11 February 2009, while visiting Mexico, Xi spoke in front of a group of
overseas Chinese and explained China's contributions during the international financial crisis, saying that it was "the greatest contribution towards the whole of human race, made by China, to prevent its 1.37 billion people from hunger." He went on to remark: "There are some bored foreigners, with full stomachs, who have nothing better to do than point fingers at us. First, China doesn't export revolution; second, China doesn't export hunger and poverty; third, China doesn't come and cause you headaches. What more is there to be said?" The story was reported on some local television stations. The news led to a flood of discussions on Chinese Internet forums and it was reported that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was caught off-guard by Xi's remarks, as the actual video was shot by some accompanying Hong Kong reporters and broadcast on Hong Kong TV, which then turned up on various Internet video websites. In the
European Union, Xi visited Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania from 7 to 21 October 2009. He visited Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, and Myanmar on his Asian trip from 14 to 22 December 2009. He later visited the United States, Ireland and Turkey in February 2012. This visit included meeting with then U.S. president
Barack Obama at the White House and vice president
Joe Biden (with Biden as the official host); and stops in California and
Iowa. In Iowa, he met with the family that previously hosted him during his 1985 tour as a
Hebei provincial official.
Accession to top posts A few months before his ascendancy to the party leadership, Xi disappeared from official media coverage and cancelled meetings with foreign officials for several weeks beginning on 1 September 2012, causing rumors. On 15 November 2012, immediately after the
18th Party National Congress, Xi was elected by the first plenary session the
18th Central Committee to the posts of Party general secretary and chairman of the Party CMC. This made him, formally the
CCP leader, and informally, the
paramount leader and also the first to be born after the founding of the PRC. The following day Xi led the new line-up of the PSC onto the stage in their first public appearance. The membership of the PSC was reduced from nine to seven, with Xi and Li Keqiang retaining their seats; the other five members were new. In a marked departure from the common practice of Chinese leaders, Xi's first speech as general secretary was plainly worded and did not include any political slogans or mention his predecessors. Xi mentioned the aspirations of the average person, remarking, "Our people ... expect better education, more stable jobs, better income, more reliable social security, medical care of a higher standard, more comfortable living conditions, and a more beautiful environment." Xi also vowed to tackle corruption at the highest levels, alluding that it would threaten the CCP's survival; he was reticent about far-reaching economic reforms. In December 2012, Xi
visited Guangdong in his first trip outside Beijing since taking the general secretaryship. The overarching theme of the trip was to call for further economic reform and a strengthened military. Xi visited the statue of Deng Xiaoping and his trip was described as following in the footsteps of
Deng's own southern trip in 1992, which provided the impetus for further economic reforms in China. Xi's trip was significant in that he departed from the established convention of Chinese leaders' travel routines in multiple ways. Rather than dining out, Xi and his entourage ate regular hotel buffet. He travelled in a large van with his colleagues rather than a fleet of limousines, and did not restrict traffic on the parts of the highway he travelled. Xi was elected president on 14 March 2013, in a confirmation vote during the
first session of the
12th National People's Congress in Beijing. He received 2,952 for, one vote against, and three abstentions. Xi was also elected as the chairman of the state CMC. He subsequently nominated Li Keqiang to be the premier, who was then appointed by the NPC. == Notes ==