This year Xi Jinping is expected to begin a historic third term as president, cementing his status as China’s strongest leader since Mao. The future of China's 1.4 billion people—and perhaps world peace—now depend to a large extent on the mind of one man. So who is President Xi, and what is his vision for China and its place in the world?

00:00 Who is Xi Jinping?
01:56 The “princelings”
03:08 Purge of the CCP
05:33 Life in Liangjiahe
09:06 Lai Changxing
09:53 Climbing the party ladder
10:42 What is Xi’s vision?
11:34 Surveillance and stability
13:16 China’s future

Listen to our sevenpart podcast series called The Prince: https://econ.st/3cWrar7

Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter: https://econ.st/3QAawvI

For our most recent coverage on China: https://econ.st/3RDGtDF

How Xi Jinping might change the Communist Party’s constitution: https://econ.st/3xTod1D

How the Taiwan crisis is a test for Xi Jinping: https://econ.st/3qk8tR5

Some Chinese want their country to move closer to Communism: https://econ.st/3AYQ1CL

The CCP says it welcomes complaints: https://econ.st/3cWTutr

Watch our Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, discuss the tensions in Taiwan: https://econ.st/3BixUZS