Xi Jinping: President in 2012?

Xi Jinping's life was not untouched by the Cultural Revolution. His father, Xi Zhongxun, was one of the founders of the Communist guerrilla movement in northern China, but in 1962, he was accused of disloyalty to Mao Zedong and stripped of his position.

When he was a teenager, Xi Jingpin was sent to the countryside to be re-educated as a peasant. He would be away from his family for several years

Xi Jingpin is the third child of Xi Zhongxun and his wife Qi Xin. According to Xinhua, from 1969 to 1975, Xi worked as an "educated youth" sent to the countryside at Liangjiahe Brigade in his home province of Shaanxi where he served as party branch secretary.

An article in The Globe and Mail described how Xi Jinping won a reputation for endurance during this time, by winning wrestling matches with farmers and carrying "a shoulder pole of twin 110-pound buckets of wheat for several miles across mountain paths without showing fatigue."

Rise in government

In 1975, he entered the Chemical Engineering department of Tsinghua University, although Xinhua said that he was graduated from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of the same university with a major in Marxist theory and ideological education. He also trained as a lawyer.

After graduation, he served as Secretary at the General Office of the State Council and was an officer in active service in the General Office of the Central Military Commission.

From these first government posts, Xi rose quickly through the ranks. In China, the sons of high-ranking cadres are known as "princeling," but Xi, unlike many of his peers was known as a simple man, preferring work to parties and avoiding displays of lavishness.

After serving in Hebei province, in 1985, Xi took the first of several posts in Fujian, finally becoming governor of the province in 2000.

In 2002, when Hu Jintao came to power, Xi was transferred to Zhejiang province, which he helped turn into one of the most economically dynamic provinces in China, an Associated Press report said.

In 2007, when allegations of corruption struck the heart of China's financial hub, Shanghai, Xi was brought in to replace the city's party chief. During the last National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, Xi was named one of the four new members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo.

A love story

Until a few years ago, people knew more about his wife, Peng Liyuan, than about Xi Jinping. It's no surprise, though, as Peng is a very popular folk singer attached to the PLA General Department's song and dance troupe.

The couple met through a friend, and at first Peng was unimpressed. His grasp of Chinese ethnic music won her over and they have been married for more than twenty years.

In a surprising revelation, Xi Jinping said later that he knew after forty minutes of conversation with Peng, that he wanted to marry her.

They have a 15-year old daughter named Xi Mingze.

A solid reputation

When he was appointed party leader for Shanghai, Xi promised to "be a good learner, a good public servant and a good team leader," the Associated Press quoted. He said that he had always felt that "an individual's functions were limited and it's up to everyone to get results."

He has managed to keep his reputation clean, untainted by allegations of corruption that has been the downfall of many other leaders in the Party.

His various stints in the provincial governments has earned him a reputation as a "pro-business campaigner" and seems at ease with the business world, having attended high-profile events such as the Davos economic summit.

Xi is held in high regard by business leaders of the world, with even US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson describing him as a "guy who knows how to get over the goal line."

There are, of course, no guarantees that Xi Jinping will step into Hu Jintao's shoes in 2012. In the new lineup of the Standing Committee, one other name, Li Keqiang, two years younger than Xi, is also a strong contender for the post.

While five years would seem like an eternity in politics, Xi Jinping seems set on heading the fifth generation of Chinese leaders.