• At 15, Xi Jinping was sent down to the countryside with 17 million other young Chinese, part of Mao’s campaign to ensure that educated youth “get re-educated by the poor”
  • When the older Xi was rehabilitated by Deng Xiaoping, his son’s political fortunes turned around. A family history that was a burden turned out to be a boon as his father, who rose to the position of Vice Premier, played a key role in the economic reforms
  • Xi was never set for the top job, and was expected to, in the party’s 17th Congress in 2007, emerge as the second-ranked leader of Li Keqiang. However, he emerged out of the congress ahead of Li
  • The party’s next Politburo, which Mr. Xi is expected to head for an unprecedented third five-year term, will be presented to the Chinese public on October 23, the day after the 20th Congress concludes