Xi Jinping, the future leader of China, will be in the international spotlight for the first time when he visits the White House on Tuesday. The West currently knows little about the man set to be the next president of the rising Asian superpower. But one thing is clear: Any hopes of a new, more conciliatory China are likely to be dashed.

Photo: Reuters.

His Washington hosts knew little about Beijing's future strong man, other than he liked to dance and play table tennis. But the visitor himself was also insecure. For him, the event could already be considered a success if he managed to avoid making any diplomatic gaffes at the White House.

That was about 10 years ago, and the man China was presenting to the world as its future president and party leader was Hu Jintao. "Who is Hu?" the U.S. magazine Newsweek asked, with a mixture of cluelessness and condescension, prior to the visit by the stiff Chinese official. Hu was familiar with Stalinist North Korea, but he had never visited capitalist America.

The introductory ritual will repeat itself at the White House on Tuesday, but this time with different players and in the face of a dramatically different geopolitical balance of power. This time Beijing's future leader is named Xi Jinping. Like Hu before him, Xi also currently holds the position of vice president. But there is a big difference with Hu's visit. Xi now represents a rising superpower that is preparing to challenge the world's current hegemon. Xi was selected by a regime that looked on as ailing Western industrialized nations, which had behaved as proud enemies and occupiers in the past, sought Beijing's assistance during the financial and euro crisis. This helps to explain the self-confidence of today's Chinese visitor to Washington.

The 58-year-old Xi's visit gives the international media an opportunity to take a new look at the balance of power in global politics. For months, the Western media seem to have had nothing more exciting to focus on than the Republican primaries leading up to the American presidential race. Publications are even devoting plenty of attention to the candidates who are trailing behind. But many don't even know how to pronounce the family name of the future ruler of a country of 1.3 billion people, a man who could eventually become the most powerful man in the world. (It's pronounced "She.")