Chinese President Xi Jinping looks a lot like Putin in his New York profile

(Reuters/Carlos Barria)Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping review an honor guard contingent during a welcoming ceremony at the Xijiao State Guest House, ahead of the fourth Interaction Conference summit and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), in Shanghai on May 20, 2014.

China, for decades a country where an almost egalitarian collective controlled the country through a party of hundreds of millions of people, now belongs to one man, Xi Jinping, the one who became president in 2012.

It has been a mysterious and fascinating transition for observers, because Xi is a man of few words and fewer expressions. However, in a profile of Xi published this week A New Yorker called “Born Red”, we get a sense of the kind of man who was able to reach such incredible heights of power.

He's the kind of man who, in many anecdotes, closely resembles Russian leader Vladimir Putin:

Xi did not have a research mind, but he excelled at managing his image and his relationships; he was now meeting with foreign investors, so he stopped wearing military fatigues and adopted a wardrobe of Western suits. Liao said: “Not everyone could have an audience with him; he would filter out those who wanted to meet him. He was a good judge of people.

Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel, is known for his transformation into a pragmatic diplomat as well as being a very good judge of people.

“For [Putin], others participate in a game that he directs. He chooses the entries, they react. He judges,” Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy of Brookings write in the book “Mr. Putin” “Their responses to his comments tell him who they think he is, but in responding, they also tell him who they are, what they want, what they care about. “

And just as Putin's power in Russia seems unshakeable, Xi has conquered China on a scale not seen since Mao Zedong. He has imprisoned the highest officials since the beginning of the Chinese Communist Party; he took charge of the economy; he has implemented an anti-corruption campaign that purges the affairs of his enemies; both in the military and in politics, and he created more than a dozen new titles for himself.

Xi even has his own series animated adventures for childrensimilar to that of Putin with care made image of the country.

(Comment Hwee Young/AFP/Getty)Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit November 9, 2014 in Beijing, China .

And when it comes to exerting control, both men seem to use the same tactics. You will remember the time when Putin left the world in uncertainty by disappear for 10 days in March. Xi has already done the same thing in order to consolidate his power before becoming president.

On September 4, 2012, he canceled a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and visits with other dignitaries. As the days passed, sinister rumors emerged, ranging from serious illness to an assassination attempt. When he reappeared on September 19, he told US authorities that he had injured his back.

Analysts of Chinese politics…speculate that Xi, in fact, went on strike; he wanted to install key allies and eliminate opponents before seizing power, but Party elders ordered him to wait.

A former intelligence official told me: Xi is basically saying: OK, fuck you, let's see if you find someone else for this job. I'm going to disappear for two weeks and I'll miss the Secretary of State. And that's what he did. It made a noise, and they ran and said, Whoa, whoa, whoa. The transfer went as planned. On November 15, 2012, Xi became general secretary.

It is becoming increasingly clear that what Xi calls an anti-corruption campaign and his justification for imprisoning hundreds of thousands of people is actually a consolidation of power. I don't call it an anti-corruption campaign, a Western diplomat told New York writer Evan Osnos. It’s fierce trench warfare.

(Reuters/Kim Kyung-hoon)Chinese President Xi Jinping (front), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd row) and U.S. President Barack Obama (3rd row) walk as they participate in an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) family photo at inside the Yanqi International Convention Center. Lake in Beijing, November 11, 2014.

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