Defense

In battle dress, Xi takes command of China's armed forces

Chinese President Xi Jinping has assumed a more direct role over the country's powerful armed forces as head of its increasingly important joint operations, displaying both his strong personal authority and China's determination to defend its interests.

The move to make Xi commander in chief of the military's Joint Operations Command Center bolsters his status as China's most powerful leader in decades and comes at a time when Beijing is becoming increasingly bold in its territorial assertions, despite a growing pushback from Washington and others.

Xi already enjoys special influence with the armed forces, largely because his muscular foreign policy is popular among Chinese nationalists and the defence establishment.