Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping is a Chinese Communist Party leader who became general secretary of the party in 2012 and president of the People’s Republic of China in 2013. His rise followed a long career in provincial and central party administration.

Under Xi, political authority has become more centralised, ideological control has tightened and China has pursued an increasingly assertive international role. His leadership is also associated with an extensive anti-corruption campaign, expanded surveillance and severe repression in several regions.

Jung Chang’s Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China contrasts the greater personal and intellectual space of the post-Mao decades with the tightening political climate under Xi Jinping, including censorship, surveillance and pressure on historical memory.