Hu Jintao is the President of the People's Republic of China, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China. Hu Jintao has generally taken a more conservative and restrictive position, policy wise, than his predecessor, Jiang Zemin. Though he had been working as a governor in various provinces for several years prior, Hu made a name for himself politically with his performance as Party Chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region. While he did introduce some liberalization of rules governing cultural practices in the region, he was also responsible for the 1988 political crackdown and some foreign media have implicated him in the sudden 1989 death of the Panchen Lama. As President of China, Hu has tried to balance the driving direction of the country from "GDP first and welfare second," to a more moderate, gradual, approach to development.

• Embassy of the PRC: Hu Jintao: SARS Prevention, Economic Progress Both Key (May 15, 2003)
• In the National Interest: SARS and the Leadership Struggle in China (May 7, 2003)
• New York Times:
  • Possible Next Patient: The Chinese Leadership (April 25, 2003)
  • China Discovers Secrecy Is Expensive (April 13, 2003)
  • Rude Awakening (May 13, 2003)

• 1942: December 21, Hu Jintao is born in Jiangsu province

• 1964: As a student in Tsinghua University, Hu Jintao joins the Communist Part of China

• 1964: Around this time, Hu Jintao marries Liu Yongqing

• 1974: While working as an engineer, Hu Jintao meets Song Ping who introduces him to politics

• 1981: Hu Jintao attends the Central Party School

• 1984: Hu Jintao is promoted to First Secretary of the Youth League Central Committee

• 1985: Hu Jintao is appointed governor of Guizhou

• 1988: Hu Jintao is appointed Party Chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region

• 1992: At the 14th National Congress, Hu Jintao is named a member of the Politburo Standing Comittee

• 1993: Hu Jintao takes over as leader of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Comittee

• 1998: Hu Jintao is named Vice President of China

• 2002: Hu Jintao becomes the Party General Secretary, Jiang Zemin refuses to hand over the presidency

• 2003: Hu Jintao is forced to address the SARS Crisis

• 2004: Jiang Zemin gives up his last position in the CPC, finally handing control over to Hu Jintao

• CoxAndForkum: "China Syndrome" (2006)

• China Nouvelle: Hu Jintao Charicature

• Guardian: Hu Jintao and George W. Bush Cartoon

• Friends of Tibet: Hu Jintao and the Dali Lama

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