The President's Daily Brief - Sept. 28th, 2024: The PDB Personnel Files: Xi Jinping

Episode Date: September 28, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The PDB Personnel File of Xi Jinping. We take a deep dive into the life of Chinese President Xi Jinping, exploring his early years, personal challenges, and the political landscape that shaped his rise to power. From his father's influence to his consolidation of authority within the Communist Party, discover the key moments that made Xi one of the most influential leaders in the world today. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Start selling on Deepop, where Taste recognizes taste. Hello and welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Now, today, we've got another edition of the PDB personnel files. This is where we examine in depth one individual global leader or personality, somebody who is shaping the news that we cover here on the PDB. And today, we're turning our spotlight on Xi Jinping, of course, the president,

of China. All right, let's get started. Now, Xi Jinping, like Chinese politics in general, is enigmatic and complex. To understand him, well, we first need to look at his background, to understand his family and his family's deep connection to the Chinese Communist Party. She was born in Beijing in 1953, just four years after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. He was the son of Xi Zhongshun, who, uh, played a significant role in the rise of the Chinese Communist Party and its ultimate victory during the Revolution. The Eldershi joined the Communist Youth League in the 1920s and quickly rose to the ranks of the party. He was actively involved in organizing labor strikes and uprisings against the ruling

Kuomintang Party or the KMT government. During the Chinese Civil War, Xi Zhong played significant roles in various military engagements and campaigns against the KMT. He demonstrated strategic acumen and leadership, contributing to the communist victories that eventually led to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. He became a close comrade of Mao Zedong and served in various key roles in the early communist government, including as vice premier. Now, being so close to the top of the communist food chain, initially placed young Xi Jinping in a privileged position. He's what's known in Mandarin as a princeling. These are the children of prominent senior communist officials who are seen as something akin to Chinese royalty or the elites.

However, during the cultural revolution of the 1960s, well, things changed drastically for Xi. In 1962, his father would be implicated in what was known as, the Pong-Dang Wei affair, where he and several other officials were accused of supporting a prominent general who had criticized Mao's policies. While that never ends well for the individual, he was accused of harboring bourgeois tendencies and was purged. He was subjected to public humiliation, imprisonment, and forced labor. That's quite the downfall. A few years later, at the age of 15, Xi Jinping himself was sent away for re-education. Now, he was settled in a rural village village in Shanzi province as part of Mao Zedong's sent-down youth policy, which, as it sounds and

implies, sent urban youths to the countryside to ostensibly learn from the peasants. Young Shi spent about seven years in the countryside, working in harsh conditions and living in a traditional cave dwelling that was carved into the hillside. Now, despite the tough conditions, Yang Shi thrived in that village. His ability, apparently, and reportedly, to relate to the village and his efforts to improve living conditions, earned him the nickname Big Brother Xi. He spent much of his free time reading and studying,

and he read extensively on politics and history, which helped him develop a broad understanding of various subjects and made him determined to join the Chinese Communist Party, a step that he ultimately took in 1974, setting him on his path to power. Up next, we'll have more on the life and career of Xi Jinping, beginning with his first steps into the world of Chinese politics and his ultimate rise to the top. I'll be right back.

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Receive 10% off your total carpet project and 12 months spent. special financing. Plus, we'll measure your space for free. Choose from a variety of stylish, on-trend options fit for everyday life with life-proof, life-proof with pet-proof technology, home decorators collection, and traffic master carpets. Save 10% and get 12 months special financing. Now at the Home Depot. Offer valid April 16th through May 3, 2006. Exclusions apply for licenses. See homedepot.com slash license numbers. Welcome back to the PDB personnel file on Xi Jinping. In 1975, at the tail end of the Cultural Revolution. She, a newly minted member of the Chinese Communist Party, left the countryside and returned to Beijing. There, he studied chemical engineering at one of

China's most prestigious schools, the Tsinghua University. During his time at the university, she reintegrated into China's urban culture. He took on roles within student organizations and committees that were aligned with the CCP's structure. Now, these positions involved organizing political activities, study groups, and discussions that promoted party ideology among students. He'd go on to further his education, returning to Singwa University later in life to study Marxist theory and ideological education, earning a doctorate in law through a part-time program. Now, this further cemented his ideological grounding and prepared him for higher leadership roles within the CCP. She's political career, started in he-been-heaval. He's political career, started in he

Bay Province in northern China. He took on his first official political role in 1979 as a secretary to China's vice premier and Secretary General of the Central Military Commission. This position was critical. It provided Xi with valuable insights into the workings of the Chinese Communist Party and the military. Now, he quickly climbed the ranks. From 1985 to 2002, she held various positions in Fujian province on China's southeastern coast. He served as vice mayor of Xiamen, party secretary of Ningdei, and eventually the governor of Fujian. During his time in Fujian, she focused on economic reforms, attracting foreign investment, and improving infrastructure. And during this time, he built a reputation as a pragmatic leader focused on economic growth.

He also honed a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader. One of the most prominent cases during Xi Jinping's tenure in Fujian was the Yuanhua smuggling case, one of the largest smuggling scandals in China's history. It involved a massive smuggling ring that operated in Jamin, importing goods such as cars, cigarettes, and oil without paying duties. Now, the scandal implicated many high-ranking officials, both at the local and provincial levels, and she, who was then the Deputy Party's secretary of Fujian, supported the central government's investigation and crackdown on the smuggling ring.

Ultimately, many individuals involved in the ring were sentenced to death and executed. This included senior customs and police officials who were found guilty of accepting bribes and facilitating the smuggling operations. She's participation in the anti-corruption efforts would later become a central theme of its leadership on the national stage. In 2007, she was elevated to the national scene. During the 17th Party Congress, he was appointed to the Politburo's standing committee, the highest decision-making body in the CCP. This appointment was a clear indication that he was being groomed for the top leadership positions, and just one year later, sure enough, he was elected vice president of China. Okay, fast forward to 2012, and now he's the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, the most powerful position in the political hierarchy.

A year later, he became the president of the People's Republic of China, consolidating his control of the party, the state, and the military. She's leadership has been a mix of strong domestic policies and ambitious foreign initiatives. At home, his approach has been centralized power and increased control over civil liberties, which is a diplomatic way of saying suppressing civil liberties. One of his first acts was to launch a massive anti-corruption campaign that has taken down thousands of officials, including, and this is interesting because it appears that she has learned a great deal about the value of anti-corruption drives over the years, including potential competitors. You could argue that part of the anti-corruption campaign over the years has been to target potential competitors. His anti-corruption efforts have allowed him to tighten his grip on power.

Over the past decade, he's targeted many high-ranking officials, military officers, and party members, some of whom were potential rivals or power centers within the CCP. By removing or sidelining them, she has been able to weaken opposing factions and consolidate his control. He also introduced the, quote, Chinese dream, and that's an initiative to rejuvenate the nation and restore its historical glory. The initiative emphasizes economic modernization, technological innovation, and a transition to a high-tech economy. It also included the modernization of China's military, the People's Liberation Army, the PLA. Globally, Xi has pushed China's influence with the Belt and Road Initiative, an extensive infrastructure project aiming to connect Asia, Africa, and Europe.

This has made China a key global player, but also raised concerns about its strategic intentions, so really, and what's become known as debt diplomacy, saddling much smaller economies with massive amounts of debt in order to exert control over them. In the South China Sea, Xi's China has been more assertive, staking territorial claims and building up its military presence. This assertiveness has led to increasing tensions with neighboring countries and global powers, especially the United States. All right, coming up after the break, we're going to conclude our profile of Chinese President Xi's by examining an interesting aspect of his life. And that would be his fascination with

literature and poetry. I'll be right back. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamovatheater.com. Only a Yamava resort and casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Must be 21 to enter. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right,

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Welcome back to the PDB personnel file on Chinese president Xi Jinping. To conclude our profile of Xi, I want to take a look at a lesser-known side of the man, and that would be his fascination with literature and poetry. Unlike many political leaders who may focus solely on policy and governance, Xi reportedly has a profound interest in the written word. As we mentioned earlier, growing up, she was an avid reader, but in addition to reading about politics and Marxist philosophy, he devoured classics of Chinese literature and poetry, and this passion, reportedly, has stayed with him throughout his life and career.

She often quotes ancient Chinese poets and philosophers in his speeches, weaving quotes and passages into modern political discourse. His choice of words can vary significantly in tone, depending on the message that he wants to convey. For instance, during a forum for Asia in 2018, she quoted the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bo. The ocean is vast because it rejects no rivers. This line was used to emphasize the importance of openness and inclusiveness, reflecting China's stance on embracing globalization and cooperation with other nations. In contrast, in a 2014 speech, she quoted a line from a poem by Mao Zedong, which is, he who does not offend will be met by none. Now this phrase underscores a strong defensive posture and a readiness to retaliate if provoked,

reflecting Xi's emphasis on maintaining national security and sovereignty. It presents a more menacing tone, highlighting the duality in his leadership style, one that can be both welcoming and formidable. His favorite works include the writings of Confucius and Laosie, as well as classical poetry from the Tang and Song dynasties. These works emphasize harmony, virtue, and the importance of moral leadership, themes that resonate in Xi's political philosophy. He often encourages Chinese citizens to read more and appreciate their cultural history. So, next time you hear Xi Jinping

quoting a poem or an ancient saying, you'll know it's, well, it's not just for show. It's a genuine reflection of his lifelong passion for literature and its influence on his leadership style. And it's one more example of the complex nature of an authoritarian leader who, while reciting poetry has also consistently strengthened his grip on power, aggressively built up his military, and further limited the liberties and freedoms of his population while suppressing dissent and opposition. And that, my friends, is the PDB personnel file for Xi Jinping. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back with the PDB tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Wireless can feel like a world of traps, but not with visible.

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