Xi Jinping is the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. But that is not the only thing he is Chairman of. The dictator is almost ‘Chairman of everything’ in China. This article by Joe McDonald is published by Associated Press. Here is an excerpt:

Xi spent his first five-year term atop the party making himself China’s strongest leader at least since Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s. Xi was dubbed “chairman of everything” after he put himself in charge of economic, propaganda and other major functions. That reversed a consensus for the ruling inner circle to avoid power struggles by sharing decision-making.

The party is crushing pro-democracy and other activism and tightening control over business and society. It has expanded surveillance of China’s 1.4 billion people and control of business, culture, education and religion. A “social credit” system tracks every person and company and punishes infractions from pollution to littering.

Xi’s rise coincides with increased assertiveness abroad following three decades of China keeping its head down to focus on economic development.

Read the full article here.