Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao (Pinyin: Hú Jǐntāo, pronounced [xǔt͡ɕìntʰɑ́ʊ̯]; born 21 December 1942) is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang Zemin as the top leader of fourth generation leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Hu possesses a low-key and reserved leadership style. His rise to the presidency represents China's transition of leadership from old, establishment communists to younger, more pragmatic technocrats. Since his ascendancy, Hu has reinstated certain controls on the economy relaxed by the previous administration, and has been conservative in his attitude to political reforms. In foreign policy, Hu advocates for an approach termed "China's peaceful development", pursuing soft power in international relations. Along with his colleague, Premier Wen Jiabao, Hu presided over nearly a decade of consistent economic growth and development that cemented China as a major world power. Through Hu's tenure, China's global influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing countries has increased.

Hu has been involved in the Communist party bureaucracy for most of his adult life, notably as Party secretary for the Tibet Autonomous Region, and then later Secretary of the Secretariat of CPC and Vice-President under Jiang Zemin. Hu's political philosophy is summarily described as aiming to found a basis for Harmonious Society domestically and for Peaceful Development internationally,[4] the former generated by a Scientific Development Concept, which seeks integrated solutions to tackle China's various economic, environmental and social problems.