Who is Xi dada?

Two decades after bursting onto the scene as a graft-fighting governor, Xi Jinping, affectionately called "Xi dada", has now earned comparisons with Mao Zedong in his quest for unrestricted power 1953 Born in Fuping county, Shaanxi province, to Mao Zedong's comrade in arms and Communist Party leader Xi Zhongxun and Qi Xin

1959 Xi Zhongxun made vice premier

1962 The elder Xi is accused of leading an anti-party clique, is purged from all positions

1969 Xi Jinping is sent to the remote, poor village of Liangjiahe, Shaanxi province for "re-education" and hard labour 1974 Joins the Communist Party as a local branch secretary in Hebei province

1985 Named executive vice mayor of Xiamen City, Fujian 1987 Marries famous folk singer Peng Liyuan

1999 Named acting governor of Fujian, takes over as governor in 2000

2007 Takes over as party secretary of Shanghai after the upper leadership of the city is engulfed in scandal

2007 Named one of nine members of the Communist Party politburo, the country's highest decision making body 2008 Elevated to position of executive vice president 2012 Succeeds Hu Jintao as Communist Party general secretary 2013 Named president of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission

2017 Communist Party votes to write his philosophy in its Constitution 2018 China amends its Constitution to remove the two-term presidential limit, effectively allowing Xi to rule beyond 2023