What to read to understand Xi Jinping

Few world leaders are as shrouded in mystery as Xi Jinping. That is no accident. Mr Xi, plausibly the most powerful man in the world, rarely gives interviews or makes public statements. Those closest to him are sworn to secrecy. China’s censors vigilantly scrub from the Chinese internet any information about him that deviates from the state’s propaganda. While there are official accounts of his thinking, and of his time as a provincial official, plenty of questions remain unanswered. In October he is expected to secure a third term as chief of the Communist Party, cementing his position as the most influential Chinese leader since Mao. For the past nine months The Economist has been charting Mr Xi’s rise. You can listen to the fruits of that research in “The Prince”, our new narrative podcast. Here are some of the books that helped us figure out what makes Mr Xi tick.