Hu Jintao: The 3rd Most Powerful Man in the World
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Every year, Forbes Magazine comes up with a list of the most powerful people on the planet. This year, many people were surprised when they learned that China’s president is just number three on the list. Back in 2010, he was on the top spot. But his lower position in the rankings this year should not be seen as a decrease in China’s place in world politics and business. It remains as steady and firm as ever.
Besides being the president of China, Hu also holds another very important office in China: he is the Communist Party’s General Secretary. Next year, he will give up the position of being the head of the Communist Party to give way to Xi Jinping, who will then become President of China two years from now. Many people think that this is one of the reasons why his status is slowly diminishing. Two years from now, he will become one of the ordinary people in his country, although still maintaining the prestige of being a past president. This shows that even in authoritarian governments people don’t hold their power for long.
Everyone knows being one of the most powerful individuals on the planet has many privileges, like having influence on many fields and tones of perks. You’ll also definitely not need to use a car loan calculator when buying a car, as you are entitled to a state limousine. But on the other hand you have responsibilities too. It’s not easy being the leader of over one billion people. That’s almost four times as much the population of the United States.
As president, he failed to address many issues and criticisms that China faces. It still remains as the top producer of greenhouse gases that causes climate change. The intellectual property issue still remains a hot topic especially for American entertainers and IT business people. And there’s virtually no change about the state of human rights in the country.
Many experts say that China’s rise as a dominant force on the world economy will continue to be unstoppable despite all the problems it needs to solve. However, the status of some of its leaders will go the other way. This is good for a country because its progress must not rely on a handful of people.