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China’s ‘Chairman of Everything’: Behind Xi Jinping’s Many Titles - The New York Times

posted onOctober 25, 2017
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Article snippet: BEIJING — Xi Jinping of China has so many titles — more than a dozen and counting — that he has been called “chairman of everything.” He is president, general secretary of the Communist Party and chairman of the Central Military Commission, to name a few. He leads working groups on issues as varied as Taiwan and internet security, and he has been hailed as the party’s “core leader.” Mr. Xi’s multiple designations reflect his status as one of China’s most influential modern leaders. On Wednesday, he gained another five-year term as the party’s general secretary and introduced a new leadership team with no clear successor, prompting speculation that he intends to rule beyond the customary second term. What do all the titles mean? And why do they matter? Here’s a guide. Mr. Xi’s most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China’s one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government. He has used his status as general secretary to wage a withering campaign against corruption, impose ideological conformity on schools and imprison scores of activists and dissidents. But “general secretary” may not be enough for Mr. Xi, who regards himself as a figure on par with China’s greatest leaders. Some analysts have speculated that Mr. Xi may seek to resurrect the title of chairman of the Communist Party, a post that was retired in 1982 as the party sought to distance itself from Mao Zedong... Link to the full article to read more

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