I would say his image is not as strong as the one of Barack Obama, circa 2009/9, who has arguably had a very strong and nearly global cult like following as wel

I would say his image is not as strong as the one of Barack Obama, circa 2009/9, who has arguably had a very strong and nearly global cult like following as well (which has diminished within a few years). Chinese leaders will always be disadvantaged to American leaders in this respect, firstly because their leaders will always be Chinese, there will never ever be a black / white / lat. am., etc., CCP secretary general leader and secondly China has not proven itself to the world in terms of global security. America has a global security empire, every country on the planet has an "insurance" policy (depending on the nation's value at certain times). China cannot ensure even regional security right now, no one trusts them.