"It hasn't reached the potential that I think many folks thought it might have, especially given China's overall economic size and role in world trade," Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science, tells BBC World News.

“He always kind of played the background, gave credit to the people around him and never really took credit for himself,” says Dimitar Gueorguiev, associate professor of political science, of President Xi's early positions in the Chinese Communist Party.

At least 15 Russian businessmen and executives have died in apparent accidents or by suicide in the last eight months, including a number of Putin allies. Brian Taylor, professor of political science, sees “more than just randomness” in the deaths.