We Need To Talk About Xi

Meet the most powerful leader in the world.

Chinese premier Xi Jinping graces our television screens and news headlines on a regular basis. But even after a decade in power, he remains shrouded in mystery.

From growing up with a father purged in Mao's Cultural Revolution and his mission to eradicate poverty, to his persecution of Uyghur Muslims and paranoia about being likened to Winnie-the-Pooh, Xi Jinping is a man obscured by caricatures. In this short, essential primer, historian and writer Michael Dillon unveils the character of Xi Jinping - arguably the world's most powerful man - to truly understand his grip on China, what he wants and how the West gets him wrong.

But this is not just the story of Xi; this is the story of today's largest economic powerhouse, which dives into the crux of the issue - what does Xi's leadership of China mean for the rest of the world, and what will he do next?

Reviews

Michael Dillon uses his decades of rich and varied experience as a scholar in and about China to decipher the leadership of current leader Xi Jinping. With succinct, informative chapters on Xi's early life, political career, his style of leadership and its guiding ideas, Dillon gives an authoritative, sure-footed interpretation of who Xi is, what he stands for and what he wants. While never shying away from contentious issues like Xinjiang, Hong Kong and human rights under Xi, Dillon presents a balanced picture, acknowledging both the problems and the strengths of a man often labelled the most powerful figure in the world today.