[Xi] is a ruddy-cheeked bear of a figure with a pomaded part to his hair, a rich radio voice, and a preference for the kind of roomy Western suits you expect on a regional sales rep. The full picture evokes Jackie Gleason more than Zhou Enlai. At rest, Xi wears a permanently placid half-smile that suggests confidence, even if his actual thoughts are unknowable at this point. Divining anything about Xi's politics from his public persona is a mug's game, but one thing is beyond doubt: he conveys an understanding of style that utterly eluded his predecessor, and an awareness that he will be judged more openly and mercilessly than any paramount Chinese leader before him. His citizens' experience with technology, prosperity, and cynicism has forced him to confront a problem that is now more acute than his predecessors ever faced: he was never elected, but he must figure out a way to be liked. Teddy Ng of the SCMP highlight s the reshuffling of PBSC positions to favour new Premier Li Keqiang: The position of premier in the Politburo Standing Committee hierarchy returns to No 2 in the new line-up, going back to an old practice dropped 15 years ago. The positioning harks back to the 14th party congress, in 1992, when Li Peng, then premier, was ranked No 2 in the Politburo Standing Committee, right after then-general secretary Jiang Zemin. However, at the next congress in 1997, Zhu Rongji , who would take over as premier in several