Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, president of China from 2003 to 2013, chairman of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) from 2004 to 2012 and chairman of the State Central Military Commission from 2005 to 2013. He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, from 1992 to 2012, and served as the paramount leader of China from 2002 to 2012.

Born in Tai County, Jiangsu, Hu studied engineering at Tsinghua University, joining the CCP while in college. First working as a political counselor at Tsinghua, Hu later worked as an engineer in Gansu, later joining the province's Construction Department. He led the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) branch in Gansu before joining the CYLC leadership in Beijing, eventually becoming the first secretary of the CYLC. Hu was appointed as Party Committee secretary for Guizhou and the Tibet Autonomous Region, where his harsh repression of dissent gained him attention from Beijing. He became a member of the CCP Central Secretariat and vice president under CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin, becoming Jiang's presumed successor as paramount leader.

Hu reintroduced state control in some sectors of the economy that were relaxed by the previous administration, and provided support for state-owned enterprises. He oversaw the response to the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, as well as a significant increase in national healthcare coverage. He sought to improve socio-economic equality under his Scientific Outlook on Development, which aimed to build a Harmonious Society that was prosperous and free of social conflict. His leadership responded to the 2008 Tibetan unrest, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the 2009 Ürümqi riots. He oversaw the passing of the Anti-Secession Law, which laid conditions for authorizing military force for unification with Taiwan, and later saw closer relations with Taiwan, leading to the signing of the trade agreement Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010. Hu advocated for China's peaceful rise, pursuing a corporate and soft power approach to China's diplomacy. Throughout Hu's tenure, China's influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing regions increased. Hu won praise for retiring voluntarily from all positions, succeeded by Xi Jinping.