President Xi wants to grab a chance to strengthen the Chinese economy

After one hundred years since establishing China’s Communist Party in a secret meeting on a boat, President Xi Jinping wants to grab a chance to lead the country to become the world’s largest economy.

Achieving that level of growth will require the country to move past emerging challenges. These are mainly the middle-income trap, rapidly aging population, and a lack of innovation. That is according to foreign analysts, mainly observing from abroad.

For Xi, his plans are already for the next hundred years. He has a dream of the great rejuvenation of China and its nation. This week, he talked about this matter at centenary celebrations for the party. At the same time, Xi heads China’s military commission and holds the top political position of the secretary in the central committee of the ruling Communist Party.

Lee Kuan Yew, the late founder of modern Singapore, talked to American foreign policy experts Robert D. Blackwill and Graham Allison in 2012. It was right before Xi became president and told them that he (Xi) had iron in his soul, more than former Chinese President Hu Jintao, who received the ranks without experiencing the tribulations and trials that Xi endured.

This 68-year-old leader is the son of an early Communist leader who became the vice-premier. Later he suffered political persecution for 16 years under Mao Zedong – the party’s dominating founder.

As a teenager, Xi spent around seven years working in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. This was a method used by Mao to eliminate his political rivals and regain his power.

Xi’s political career

According to state media, Xi had a position as a village party secretary, later he studied in the chemical engineering school at Tsinghua University, then worked in a couple of government positions in the country, mainly in Shanghai and Fujian province.