The name is one of the usual ones that we will never be able to pronounce correctly. The formation is that of the Maoist revolution, for which his father worked and from which he was also forged, just 15 years old. His wife, on the other hand, is a Chinese music star, an army soprano who has hosted the New Year's concert on TV for 25 years.
The next president of the People's Republic of China, who will leave the Congress in progress these days, succeeding Hu Jintao and going to govern the second world economy in a few months, his name is Xi Jinping (the correct pronunciation, for those who want to try their hand, would be: "Sci Cin-piong", with the final g just mentioned, even if the New York Times claims it is "Sci Gin-ping") and it is still unknown to most. Even in and around Beijing, let alone far from the confines of the Great Wall. However, his long and important background is known: son of Mao's deputy prime minister, grew up in the midst of the cultural revolution (1966-1976), also trying the experience, as a teenager, of the "educational" exile in the arid countryside of Shaanxi, among the poorest of the immense Chinese territory, where he remained for over 7 years.
The experience tempers him to such an extent that he himself defines it as "educational" (although in reality he tried to escape more than once), and that he has always been a point of reference in the peasant struggle. A man of the people, in short, married secondly to the very famous singer Peng Liyuan, much better known than him in the Asian giant but now disappeared from the scene, according to the Chinese tradition of first ladies who almost never appear in public with their husbands.
Member of the Communist Party since 1974, Xi Jinping has covered all the stages, from the apprenticeship to the top, always denoting the utmost rigor. In a system worn down by scandals and corruption, he stands out as one of the few upright Chinese politicians: according to what a relative of his recently declared to the press, his greatest sin "was to return books late to the library". But despite being the bulwark of the ancient values of the deepest communist culture of Beijing and its surroundings, the future president has not disdained a rapprochement with the United States over the years.
Rather, Xi Jinping really seems to have a soft spot for the States: he has already flown overseas six times in his life, and his daughter is currently studying at Harvard University, under an assumed name for security reasons. The first contact with the first economy in the world takes place in 1985, in Iowa, the last instead last February when he also met with President Barack Obama as well as Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Xi Jingping observed and particularly appreciated America's way of developing tourism, but his true great passion with stars and stripes is for cinema. For American films, especially war films. Her favorite? "Saving Private Ryan".
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