Here’s a look at the life of Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China.
Personal:
Birth date: June 1953
Birth place: Fuping County, Shaanxi Province, China (some sources say Beijing)
Birth name: Xi Jinping
Father: Xi Zhongxun, revolutionary and vice premier
Mother: Qi Xin
Marriages: Peng Liyuan (1987-present); Ke Lingling (divorced)
Children: with Peng Liyuan: Xi Mingze
Education: Tsinghua University, Chemical Engineering, 1979; Tsinghua University, LLD, 2002
Other Facts:
Is considered to be a “princeling,” the son or daughter of a revolutionary veteran.
His wife, Peng Liyuan, is a famous folk singer in China.
Timeline:
1969-1975 – Works as an agricultural laborer in Liangjiahe, Shaanxi. Xi is among the millions of urban youths who were “sent down,” forced to leave cities to work as laborers in the countryside under Mao’s policies.
1974 – Joins the Communist Party of China.
1979-1982 – Works as the personal secretary to Geng Biao, the minister of defense.
1982-1985 – Serves as deputy secretary and then secretary of Zhengding, Hebei Province.
April 1985 – Makes his first trip to the United States as part of an agricultural delegation.
1985-1988 – Executive vice mayor of Xiamen, Fujian Province.
1988-1990 – Party secretary of Ningde, Fujian Province.
1990-1996 – Party secretary of Fuzhou, Fujian Province.
1996-1999 – Deputy party secretary of Fujian Province.
1999-2000 – Vice governor of Fujian Province.
2000-2002 – Governor of Fujian Province.
2002-2007 – Party secretary of Zhejiang Province.
2007 – Is named party secretary of Shanghai.
October 2007-present – Politburo Standing Committee member.
2007-2013 – President of the Central Party School.
2008-2013 – Vice president of the People’s Republic of China.
2010-2012 – Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
February 2012 – Delivers a policy speech in Washington, DC, and meets with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
November 15, 2012 – Succeeds Hu Jintao as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and as Chairman of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission (CMC).
March 14, 2013 – Xi Jinping is named China’s president.
October 2014 – The Governance of China, a collection of Xi’s speeches, is published by Foreign Languages Press.
November 12, 2014 – US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announce a climate change agreement that would cut both countries’ greenhouse gas emissions by close to a third over the next two decades. The White House says the announcement marks the first time China has agreed to cut its carbon emissions.
September 22-27, 2015 – During Xi’s first state visit to the United States, he meets with tech and business leaders in Seattle before flying to Washington DC to meet with President Barack Obama.
October 20-23, 2015 – First state visit to the United Kingdom, to bolster economic and diplomatic ties.
November 7, 2015 – Meets with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore, marking the first meeting between the leaders of China and Taiwan since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949.
April 2016 – Assumes the title of “commander in chief” of the new joint forces battle command center, consolidating his control of the military.
October 27, 2016 – Is declared the “core” leader of the Chinese Communist party. The title, originally held by Chairman Mao Zedong who is considered the father of modern China, reinforces Xi’s power.
October 24, 2017 – Party delegates vote unanimously to make “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” a guiding principle for the party.