Technically Xi installed by Mr. Jiang Mr. Hu, and numerous power brokers in CCP and outside, probably US involvement was playing some negligible role as well. T

Technically Xi installed by Mr. Jiang Mr. Hu, and numerous power brokers in CCP and outside, probably US involvement was playing some negligible role as well. The power struggles happen inside the high circle of CCP. Rarely one can get the actual underlying mechanism from it. Likely wise, I doubt anyone here understands much how US high power works. Xi also cannot dictate an election result. At least there was no precedence. As there is only one candidate for the highest position. Of course, US has 2 candidates, how much better/worse? I don't know, anyone can judge themselves. As a matter of fact, no election can be held in China. Election was never a thing anyone can understand. Like when I was in elementary school, the classroom head was appointed. No important position was ever elected. You might stand before Xi, and claim that Xi would be powerless if China is to hold an election. And himself and mostly everyone statistically picked on street, would look at you bewildered, probably laugh hard and walks away like anyone who encounter some lunatic. The analogy could be a Chinese run to US Senate speech, and claim that communism is better for US. The next day all the media would laugh so hard that I bet even divided as Trump's US, everyone would unit and celebrate this rare consensus that this Chinese guys is mad. Essentially, both concepts are virtually foreign to each other's mental system. They cannot process them. What I want to say is that, China runs a system that is neither democracy nor dictatorship, in western sense. A lot of people hate China, they often think that's because China is oppressive or authoritarian. While in fact, China is far more exotic than oppressive or authoritarian. I often speculate that people hate China out of the deep fear of unknown. Not only unknown, China is strong enough that they basically position themselves to be unshakable in the current geopolitical system, unlike the old empire, which also claim superiority and reject inspection, but they were not really strong enough to resist. I guess China learned the lesson since the opium war: it's important to be actually powerful than just claiming to have the mandate of the heaven.