Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping is the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. As Xi holds the top offices of the party and the military, in addition to being the head of state through the office of the president, he is sometimes referred to as China's "Paramount Leader" and recognized by the party as its leadership "core". As General Secretary, Xi holds an ex-officio seat on the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body.

The son of Communist veteran Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping rose through the ranks politically in China's coastal provinces. Xi was governor of Fujian from 1999 to 2002, and governor, then party secretary of neighboring Zhejiang province from 2002 to 2007. Following the dismissal of Chen Liangyu, Xi was transferred to Shanghai as party secretary for a brief period in 2007. Xi joined the Politburo Standing Committee and central secretariat in October 2007, spending the next five years as Hu Jintao's presumed successor. Xi was vice-president from 2008 to 2013 and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 2010 to 2012.