The globe is continuously announcing Xi Jinping's name and position

The globe is continuously announcing Xi Jinping's name and position

On Thursday, February 8, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping enters the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the Spring Festival festivities.

After assuming power in China eleven years ago, Xi Jinping has grown to become one of the world's most influential individuals. However, it may not be enough time for many foreigners to learn how to pronounce their names. This often irks foreign politicians and commentators. The most common issues are with the characters "x" and "j". Throughout the English-speaking globe, a lot of people pronounce "z" sounds incorrectly.

When Mr. Xi and President Joe Biden met in the US last month, this was on show. Chopped sibilants reverberated over the airwaves of the whole planet. Apparently, all the pronunciation instructions on the Internet (along with videos of people trying very hard to pronounce Mr. Xi's name) aren't quite helping with this one.

On the other hand, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about Mr. Xi. It relates to his position. Similar to other Chinese presidents, Mr. Xi is a multi-positional leader. The most significant is the General Secretary of the governing Communist Party, which elevates him to the position of China's most important leader. In addition, he holds the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the party's Central Military Commission.

State President is now his least significant title. Like the roles performed by prominent persons elsewhere, this one is mostly ceremonial. Consider Israel or Germany, where presidents have relatively limited power. Communist China's first president was Mao Zedong, however other weak people have also held this office. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was unoccupied for an extended period of time. It was totally outlawed in 1975 and then reinstated in the early 1980s. Jiang Zemin, the president of China from 1993 to 2003, started the custom of the country's leader holding all three titles.

Nonetheless, international press and politicians often adopt the president's title when discussing Mr. Xi. That is also how the Chinese government communicates in English. Not only is this the least significant of Mr. Xi's three headgear, but it is also unclear. The phrase "president of the country" (guojia zuxi) is another poorly translated version of the Chinese presidential title. China refers to Mr. Biden and previous presidents using a distinct phrase, zongtong.

The "General Secretary" and the "Chairman" seem quite Leninist, of course. Additionally, the title "Chairman of the Central Military Commission" has the air of a junta leader's. China most likely feels that "President" sounds less menacing and is more important. Foreign analysts are not required to adhere to China's goals, however. When in doubt, they may consider labeling Mr. Xi a tyrant, learning from Mr. Biden.