but he's arguably the world's most powerful leader, and thanks to a recent end to term limits

he can now rule for life.

But few knew much about him before he became China's president. As a longtime cog in China's bureaucracy

Xi gave little indication of the sort of nationalist leader he'd be until this comment he made as vice president.

Some foreigners with full bellies and nothing better to do engage in finger-pointing at us.

First, China does not export revolution.

Second, it does not export famine and poverty.

And third, it does not mess around with you.

So what else is there to say?

Those 30 seconds of shade were nearly entirely scrubbed from the interwebs by Chinese censors

But it did give the world a glimpse into how Xi might rule.

Way before he was China's President, Xi Jinping couldn't even get into the Communist Party

He came from a well-off political family, but after his dad clashed with the party he was turned away.

As a teen he lived in a remote village for several years, an experience some say helped him relate to Chinese citizens

He eventually joined the party, gradually moved up the ranks, and was appointed successor by party elders who thought he wouldn't shake things up

but that plan backfired.

One of the signatures of his presidency has been a massive anti-corruption drive that punished nearly 300,000 politicians in 2016 alone

The corruption hunt has been both praised for its effectiveness and criticized as a ploy to root out Xi's political opponents

It has nothing to do with a power struggle.

In this case, there is no "House of Cards."

Stoking Chinese nationalism has been a big part of Xi's agenda, also known as the Chinese dream - the term he made popular in 2013

The Chinese Dream is a dream about history, the present, and the future.

It is a dream of our generation, but even more so a dream.

That means becoming a global leader on several fronts including the sciences,

diplomacy,

and culture.

And parts of that dreams seem to be paying off.

Under Xi, China became the world's second largest economy and its influence is only growing. His 'let's all win' rhetoric about trade is especially

pronounced in China's partnerships with countries in Eurasia, Latin America, and Africa

We Chinese know only too well what it takes to achieve prosperity.

We will open our arms to the people of other countries and welcome them aboard the express train of China's development.

"Our country is being killed on trade by China". On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly blamed

China for the US's economic decline but he recently started giving Xi credit

"I don't blame China. Who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country

For the benefit of its citizens, I give China great credit". Still China's heavy investments in Africa have been criticized as exploitative.

A big part of achieving the Chinese dream is making sure all citizens are invested in what Xi calls harmony

That everyone is singing the same tune so to speak which explains

Why a 2017 law punishes anyone who distorts the lyrics or disrespects the national anthem

It's his unifying philosophy that's allowed him to cement his status as the country's core leader the highest honor for any Chinese ruler

He's built up a cult of personality with appearances in his own propaganda cartoons and in mobile games.

A recent popular game lets players compete over how fast they can clap for Shi.

The app has registered over a billion claps

The government's online sensors also carefully protect Xi's image after news of lifting term limits hit,

sensors deleted critical social media comments and political memes of Winnie the Pooh meant to represent Shi

China's government also uses state media to promote an image of unity

That's where the so-called 50 cent army comes in

They're the government's online foot soldiers who flood Chinese social media and forums with hundreds of millions of positive comments and stories a year

Chinese social media platforms make sure they don't ruffle any feathers

Weibo - China's version of Twitter - announced last September that it would hire a thousand censorship supervisors.

Shortly after Freedom House named China the worst abuser of Internet freedom for the second year in a row

The country's poor human rights record has been among one of the primary stains on its global image

Even so everything seems to be in step with the vision Xi laid out last year at his party's 19th Congress.

In that address he laid out one of his most ambitious plans yet:

transforming the Armed Forces

China is opening its first overseas military base in Djibouti and is increasing its presence in the South China Sea

both clear signs of its military expansion

With no successor and even more time to rule, Xi is getting closer to realizing the Chinese dream himself.