New Emperors, The: Power and the Princelings in China

New Emperors, The: Power and the Princelings in China

China has become the powerhouse of the world economy and home to 1 in 5 of the worldâ€™s population, yet we know almost nothing of the people who lead it. How does one become the leader of the worldâ€™s newest superpower? And who holds the real power in the Chinese system? In The New Dragons, the noted China expert Kerry Brown journeys deep into the heart of the secretive Communist Party. Chinaâ€™s system might have its roots in peasant rebellion but it is now firmly under the control of a power-conscious Beijing elite, almost half of whose members are related directly to former senior Party leaders. Brown reveals the intrigue, scandal and murder surrounding the internal battle raging between two Chinaâ€™s: one founded by Mao on Communist principles, and a modern China in which â€˜to get rich is gloriousâ€™. At the centre of it all sits the latest Party Secretary, Xi Jinping - the son of a revolutionary, with links both to big business and to the Peopleâ€™s Liberation Army. His rise to power is symbolic of the new dragons leading the worldâ€™s next superpower.