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This would have been impossible without this incredible reporting by The Economist, I highly recommend listening to their full podcast for more details - https://www.economist.com/theprincepod
America Against America - https://www.amazon.com/America-Against-Wang-Huning/dp/B09RM4PW9L
The Final Struggle: Inside China's Global Strategy - https://www.amazon.com/Final-Struggle-Inside-Chinas-Strategy/dp/1788692764
Coalitions of the Weak - https://www.amazon.com/Coalitions-Cambridge-Studies-Comparative-Politics/dp/1009016512/

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That's how long Xi Jinping was missing before he suddenly became China's leader back in 2012.

During this time, he cancelled meetings with foreign leaders, and Chinese media refused to comment

had been replaced, or thrown in prison, or even assassinated.

Government censors blocked search results for his name anywhere on the internet.

The Chinese Communist Party just acted like nothing had happened, and they appointed him General Secretary.

Exactly where he was during that 2 week stretch is still unknown to this day, but understanding his journey to become the most powerful man in

the world is key to understanding the future of the global world order.

But thanks to some intrepid reporting by anonymous sources, we're starting to learn more now.

We know that he grew up in an extremely tumultuous time for China.

Political power was shifting quickly, and it ultimately tore his family apart.

But somehow, Xi remained dedicated to the Chinese Communist Party.

To understand why, we have to go back to the 1950s.

Mao Zedong was the founder of the People's Republic of China and led the entire country as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.

Xi's father worked for Chairman Mao directly as Secretary for Industrial Affairs.

This was a very important role, and it allowed their family to live in a part of town reserved for party officials.

The neighborhood was gated and had security patrolling the entrance.

The government paid for nannies and housekeepers, and the accommodations were luxurious.

Xi Jinping was born in that private Beijing neighborhood in 1953.

Although he wasn't directly in line for a political position, he was practically royalty.

His father was critical to the founding of Chairman Mao's empire and was routinely featured in party propaganda.

Mao had successfully unified China and ended the so-called century of humiliation that came before it.

Decades of rebellions, civil conflicts, imperial invasions, and political upheaval had come to an end, and Xi's father was right at the heart of the new order.

But even though he was a hero in the political realm, Xi's father was a strict disciplinarian at home.

The children of Mao's revolutionary compatriots were called the Red Second Generation, or princelings, since they were set to inherit this new unified government.

But parents were worried that these princelings would become entitled, so they enforced strict rules at home.

She's still alive today at over 90 years old, and Si keeps a picture of her on his desk, but reports show that she's kept a low profile on purpose.

Xi didn't spend much time with his parents growing up, because he went to

But his time living a fancy life as part of the political elite wouldn't last long.

Mao Zedong was working to abolish private ownership of farmland and build up Chinese industrial capacity, but it wasn't going well.

This so-called Great Leap Forward led to mass starvation, and even Xi's fancy boarding school couldn't get enough food to feed the students.

Dictators like Chairman Mao put loyalty above all else.

It didn't matter if people were dying left and right, as long as they could still rule with an iron fist.

Anyone who questioned Mao's plan was swiftly dealt with, and Xi's father was no exception.

His father had written a novel about the Chinese Civil War, and in the process, been critical of Mao's leadership.

So in 1962, he was removed from government and put on house arrest.

Mao had to be sure that Xi's father would never question his authority again, so he sent him to a labor camp to live out his days in poverty.

This was just the start of a broader consolidation of political power, though.

The late 1960s brought the Cultural Revolution, and with it, broad attacks on anyone who questioned China's new socialist doctrine.

Teachers were shamed for allowing free thought.

People were beaten, tortured, and even killed.

Even though Xi Jinping was still just a boy, he was brutally punished for his father's sins.

Mao loyalists brought Xi to a courtyard in Beijing to shame him.

The crowd chanted slogans about how dishonorable he had been and even forced his mother to participate in

These Mao loyalists were called Red Guards, and they would stop at nothing to enforce compliance with the new political regime.

They broke into Xi's boarding school and dragged the teachers into the street.

They even built makeshift prisons to lock people up.

It was a horrible time for the country, and C's family was suffering.

His older half-sister took her own life because of the stress it caused her, and in later accounts, C has said that he thought he might die too.

At age 14, C was locked in a detention center and left to starve.

1 night, he managed to run away and make it home to his mom to ask for some food.

But the risk of getting caught was simply too high, so his own mother had to turn him into

This kind of chaos was unsustainable, even under Chairman Mao's authoritarian rule.

The solution was to send young people out of the cities and into the farmlands to learn the virtues of hard labor from ordinary peasants.

Xi was only 15 when he was sent to a tiny village to start working.

But surprisingly, he remembers this time fondly.

For Si, it was an opportunity for personal growth and a chance to become a stronger man.

Survival in Beijing had become increasingly difficult, so Si was excited for a new beginning, even if it meant leaving his family behind.

But his time on the farm was far from his expectations.

to live in a cave with very little to eat, and the locals didn't even like him.

He started smoking cigarettes, just so that he could take more breaks from the hard work.

After only a few months, he couldn't take it anymore, so he escaped and headed back to Beijing.

His plan was half-baked, though, and he was arrested almost immediately and forced to build sewers throughout the city.

1 year later, he decided to give the countryside another shot.

So he headed back to the farm and eventually was able to have an impact on

He put his education to use and helped build wells, dams, and new roads.

At age 22, he was finally ready to depart, for good this time.

Mao Zedong, the most powerful influence on China since Confucius, has died at the age of

This was a really critical turning point for China.

Chairman Mao died in 1976, bringing the Cultural Revolution to an end.

Finally, the mark on Xi's family could be lifted and everyone could reunite.

The young princelings were back in the political elite, so most of them started celebrating.

They drank and partied, but not Xi Jinping.

You would think that after watching Mao's cultural revolution destroy his entire childhood, Xi would reject the Communist Party.

in that position again, so he started working to gain political power.

He had seen first-hand the helplessness of political outsiders, and so he had to double down on the Communist Party.

The CCP still had complete control over China, but it was the leader of the party who had the real power.

Xi Jinping would need to climb the ranks and reach the top to fulfill his mission.

a university to go study chemical engineering.

The Chinese academic system had been gutted during the Cultural Revolution, and nearly every class had been restructured to teach the writings of Mao Zedong.

Getting into a good university was no longer about getting good grades and passing the entrance exams.

The name of the game was getting a strong recommendation from a local party leader.

Even though the classes were more focused on Marxist theory than solving true engineering problems, The degree was enough to let See qualify for political positions.

So he called up his father, who was no longer a political exile, and asked for some help.

His father was able to get him a job with a military official as a secretary.

It wasn't glamorous work, mostly just managing schedules, taking notes in meetings, and helping with speeches.

But it allowed him to form relationships with senior army officials.

Because of the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, Xi's boss didn't want him to write anything down that could be used against him in

So Xi would have to take notes, then run to the bathroom to memorize everything before burning the paper he had just written on.

Xi was learning about the complicated power dynamics in China.

The army officials he was working with were the People's Liberation Army, or PLA.

These soldiers don't serve China broadly.

Instead, they report directly to the Chinese Communist Party.

Their job is first and foremost to keep the communists in charge and prevent any attempt at a coup.

If Xi wanted to 1 day run the Chinese Communist Party, he would have to cozy up to the PLA.

In hindsight, working in this lowly position was incredibly valuable because it gave him military credentials.

make progress, he decided to completely change trajectories.

He again returned to the poor rural Chinese countryside to integrate with the average worker, this time as deputy party secretary.

It was a tough job, far away from the comforts of a city life, but it was a critical function for the Communist Party.

The Communist regime needed the support of average peasants, so sending officials out to promote the party line was a win-win, spread the message of communism while identifying future party leaders.

Xi Jinping had positioned himself perfectly to join the ranks of the next generation of Communist Party leadership.

This was a critical moment, as the Communist Party was going through a major strategic shift.

The famines caused by the Great Leap Forward and the violence caused by the Cultural Revolution had eroded confidence in the Communist Party, and they needed a new direction, so they decided to dial things back a bit.

Instead of extreme socialism with complete collective control of all industry, the free market would need to start playing a role.

It would be socialism with Chinese characteristics and it ultimately led to massive economic growth.

Well, history is about to be made on the south lawn of the White House where President Carter will officially greet Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, the first Chinese communist official to make a state visit to the United States."

His name was Deng Xiaoping, and he was so dedicated to reforming China that he even visited America personally to build a relationship between the 2 countries.

International trade would come to define the Chinese growth story over the next decades, but this transformation wouldn't happen overnight.

Xi Jinping was looking for a new job, and a unique opportunity popped up in Fujian province.

This mountainous region on China's southern coast had been a major international trading hub until Mao Zedong closed off China to the world.

Fujian had become 1 of China's poorest provinces, But that was an opportunity for Xi.

He spent 17 years there working his way up in the local government and keeping a low profile.

Even though Xi was making solid progress, sticking his neck out too much could be risky,

Part of the reason he was so careful about flying under the radar was the rampant corruption that plagued China at the time.

Every major city had their fair share of wheeler-dealer types that were constantly making backroom deals to keep imports and exports flowing.

the most prominent bosses was a man named Lai Chung-Sing, and he was operating right in Xi Jinping's backyard.

For years, Lai had been running a massive smuggling business

in Fujian, and in the process, avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes.

Lai had focused on 1 of the ports in Fujian province, right across from Taiwan.

His smuggling empire had illegally imported billions of dollars worth of cigarettes, cars, and oil, all directly under the noses of local officials.

Much like Xi Jinping, Lai Chiang-Singh had spent years as a ditch digger, living an impoverished lifestyle.

But once China started opening up to foreign trade,

was a master of building connections and manipulating people.

He realized early on that the biggest winners during the next economic boom wouldn't necessarily be the smartest or most educated people, but instead, the people who were able to control government officials.

So Lai started growing his network, and reinvesting all of his profits into bribes.

Whenever times were tough, he was quick to help the police, army, or other government workers with whatever they needed to get done.

The strategy worked, and after a few years, Lai controlled the entire port system.

He was so connected that he could drive right into the Chinese capital without getting stopped by the guards.

He even built a new airport to speed up trade, and was responsible for one-sixth of all Chinese oil imports.

Lai was becoming a local hero, because even though he was breaking the law, he had so many people on his payroll that everyone still loved him.

He was basically the Pablo Escobar of China in the 1990s, And just like Escobar, he bought a local soccer team to further cement his name in history.

For his most important assets, he built a pleasure palace where absolutely everything was free.

Lavish dinners, endless gambling, even prostitution.

Anything was possible at Lai's headquarters.

And it kept everyone looking the other way on his corrupt practices.

Eventually, Lai's fraudulent empire became too big to ignore, so the Chinese government cracked down.

They sent investigators to arrest him, but he was tipped off by his local contacts and escaped the country.

He sailed to Hong Kong on a boat and then flew to Canada.

The corruption scandal resulted in over 150 of his associates getting arrested, and some of them wound up getting the death penalty.

Lai claimed that he had done nothing wrong, and the Chinese government was going after him purely for political reasons.

He requested political asylum in Canada, but was eventually sent back to China after spending 12 years fighting his case.

He was arrested as soon as he landed and quickly sentenced to life in prison.

Even though the Chinese government made an example of lie, he clearly wasn't the only 1 doing this type of thing at that time.

Corruption was rampant, and nearly every major government official was assumed to be involved in either bribery, tax evasion, or some other abuse of power.

The question is what Xi Jinping's role was in all of this.

After all, he was a senior party official in Fujian at the time, and it's hard to imagine that he wasn't aware of what was happening.

Well, even if Xi turned a blind eye to corruption in Fujian, it didn't hurt his political career.

Because he was born a princeling, he already had plenty of connections and likely didn't need to get involved directly with Lai's empire.

That put him in the perfect position to clean up the scandal, so Beijing officials tapped him to put an end to corruption once

The official history of Xi Jinping doesn't mention any ties to corrupt business practices.

China clearly doesn't want to tarnish their leader's image, but in 2012, Bloomberg News reported that Xi's family owned hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and other business assets.

And a Chinese billionaire told the New York Times that he had helped the Xi family dump some assets.

But this billionaire quickly disappeared from a Hong Kong hotel, and then was sentenced to 13 years in prison for bribery and corruption.

Xi's wealth remains shrouded in mystery to this day.

After all, he might really believe in communism to such an extent that he never crosses the line.

1 of Xi's predecessors, Deng Xiaoping, had a famous saying, hide your strength and bide your time.

It appears that Xi Jinping had taken this to heart.

He had always prized power over wealth and had seemingly unending patience.

He never overestimated his power and he never stuck his neck out desperately grasping for more.

It served him well because in 2002, Hu Jintao became general secretary and opened up

in Fujian, but now it was time to travel north, to Zhejiang.

It didn't matter that businessmen were getting rich through corrupt business practices.

Xi had his eye on real power, political power.

And positioning himself as the anti-corruption leader who the Communist Party could count on was the perfect move.

In 2006, Hu Jintao was consolidating power, and that meant getting rid of the current leader in Shanghai.

Whenever Chinese leaders remove their challengers, they almost always claim that they're fighting corruption.

As the ruling party, the greatest threat we face is corruption.

This strategy works great, since nearly everyone is involved in corruption at some level.

Xi Jinping was the logical choice to take over in Shanghai, since he had publicly steered clear of corruption and helped clean up the Lai Chung-Sing scandal in Fujian.

Most importantly though, Xi was also a political independent.

His loyalty and patience was finally being rewarded.

Every 5 years, the Chinese government held a party congress.

This event would decide who ran the country as well as who was next in line.

The 17th Party Congress was a particularly important turning point for Xi Jinping.

party's leader, Hu Jintao, walked on stage, he was followed by members of his Politburo.

These were the men who were next in line for the top job, and Xi Jinping was ahead of his main rival.

He was basically on track to serve as vice president and eventually lead all of China.

Only 1 question remained, could Xi continue to keep a

China had struggled under Hu Jintao and was eager to find a stronger leader to take the party forward.

Even though Xi Jinping had styled himself as

a reserved and diligent servant to the party,

he was quietly planning to adopt a much more aggressive stance.

Most of the world was still unaware of Xi Jinping in the early 2000s, but in 2008, China would host the Olympics in Beijing, and Xi would preside over the Games.

The Chinese Olympics had been hailed as a turning point in China's development.

The hope was that the country would become more open, more democratic, and more free.

But even though China had welcomed visitors to the massive stadium in Beijing, they also had ramped up military operations and security measures to suppress local protests.

Xi Jinping had a major problem on his hands.

It was a problem faced by all authoritarian governments who stay in power for decades.

The population must be kept in check at all times.

In a democracy, disgruntled citizens have an outlet for their frustrations.

The Chinese Communist Party didn't want to give up control under any circumstances, so managing dissent was critical.

I know this is the first Arab revolution of the 21st century.

Mubarak deposed Egypt's 18-day revolution.

He's a theater of the absurd, a murderous clown.

In 2011, Joe Biden flew to China to meet with Xi Jinping.

They were both serving as vice presidents at the time, and were grappling with the global political issues of the day.

The Arab Spring had caused massive upheaval in countries like Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.

Anti-authoritarian protests had spiraled into violent confrontations and calls for new governments.

Xi was clearly worried that something similar could happen in China.

After all, the same government corruption that had forced Middle Eastern citizens onto the streets was rampant in China.

Government officials had taken bribes and cut corners while construction companies were building schools.

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History of Xi Jinping (Full Documentary)