The Red Emperor

'Deeply researched . . . incisive . . . the most vivid and compelling biography of Xi published to date' - James Kynge, Financial Times

In The Red Emperor, veteran foreign correspondent Michael Sheridan presents an eye-opening portrait of Xi Jinping, the supreme leader of China who is set to rule for life. In Xi's new China, family mafias struggle for power amid murder, corruption and sex scandals, while ministers and generals vanish in purges. Xi aims to dominate world trade, to defeat Western democracy and to cement China's position as the pre-eminent power in the East. A loner and a risk-taker, he is the most consequential ruler of our time.

Drawing on intimate stories from the closed world of China's leading families, and two decades of first-hand reporting, Michael Sheridan sheds new light on the history and politics of China, revealing that behind the façade of the Chinese Communist Party there is a modern dynasty and a new emperor.

'Immensely readable, it deftly navigates the complexities of the subject matter, effortlessly and plainly explaining historical fact and bringing it to life with gripping anecdote' - Sunday Post

'Michael Sheridan is one of the best informed and wisest writers on China' - Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong