China’s abolition of term limits for the president, which will pave the way for Xi Jinping to rule for life, is the culmination of a campaign of tightening control waged by Xi since he came to power in 2012.

Over the past five years he has worked doggedly to build a cult of personality, endearing himself to the populace as a father figure while requiring unwavering loyalty from officials and cracking down harshly on dissent. This is how Xi cemented his grip on China.

Purges

Soon after coming to power in 2012, Xi began a sweeping anti-graft campaign that has seen about 1.3 million officials punished in some form. But Xi’s work to weaken rival factions at the pinnacle of Chinese politics has left him the last man standing. Zhou Yongkang, the former security czar, became the highest ranking official since the founding of the People’s Republic to be jailed on corruption charges.

“Xi has a very particular vision of where China is going: for China to enter the centre stage of world affairs and reshape the global order,” said Victor Shih, a politics professor at the University of California, San Diego. “He feels he needs control every little detail to achieve those goals, and will silence officials he thinks stand in his way.”

Xi has also targeted high-ranking military officials, with some committing suicide rather than suffer the consequences of a public shaming, and is pushing to establish an anti-corruption watchdog with more extensive powers, ensuring the purges will continue.

Memorabilia

Souvenirs with portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong are displayed at a shop in Beijing, China. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA

For a visual comparison to Mao, look no further than the plethora of shops selling Xi-themed memorabilia in cities across China. Often times Xi and Mao airbrushed portraits hang side by side. For something a little more inspiring, Chinese calligraphy with quotes by Xi and a faux-ink portrait of the man are also widely available.

But if wall space is limited, China’s souvenir merchants offer commemorative plates decorated with Xi’s portrait or a photo of the first couple waving. And for those that want to carry Xi with them everywhere, heart shaped necklaces with his likeness hang by the dozen from countertop racks. They are identical to the ones feature Mao, the only difference is the portrait.

“The way he has associated himself with Mao, as a kind of revolutionary hero, is an effort to build legitimacy in a system where for a long time the Communist party’s credibility was based on the revolution,” said Merriden Varrall, director of the East Asia program at the Lowy Institute. “Since he wasn’t alive then, he needs to associate himself with the real thing.”

Crushing dissent

Xi began taking a hard line against any form of dissent shortly after coming to power. He launched a nationwide crackdown on civil rights lawyers and activists that saw nearly 250 people detained by police.

Internet and press censorship has also increased under Xi, meaning there are few alternative voices to even offer moderate differences to the party line. He has openly said the media should be a tool of the Communist party and sending an offending tweet is now enough to land someone in jail.

“There are a variety of alternative viewpoints, whether it’s religion, civil society or or the media, and Xi doesn’t want anyone to question the direction he is taking China,” said Ely Ratner, a senior fellow for China studies at the Council of Foreign Relations.

Writing himself into the constitution, and the daily news

At a Communist party meeting last year, Xi succeeded in placing himself on the same level as the two most important modern leaders, Mao and Deng Xiaoping. Xi had his name written into the party’s constitution, not just a nod to his ideology as his predecessors had done.

The 19th Communist party congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing where Xi Jinping’s name was added to the constitution. Photograph: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images

Now he is poised to have his name inscribed in the country’s constitution as well. But ordinary Chinese people are already accustomed to seeing Xi’s name everywhere. While China’s state-controlled media has always focused heavily on the achievements of national leaders, Xi was second only to Mao in frequency and intensity of state media coverage, according to a 2014 study.

“The airwaves are saturated with his thoughts, his image and his work, they go out of their way to cover him,” said Shih. “It shows he’s firmly in control, but also that he is personally responsible for China’s direction, instead of the state or the party.”

Man of many titles

Xi has amassed a laundry list of titles, leading many to refer to him as the “chairman of everything”. His three most important for governing are president, general secretary of the Communist party and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

But he has also created a host of specialised working groups – on topics such as Taiwan and cyberspace – and consistently placed himself at the head of them.

“No one has the capacity to handle the complexities of all these issues at once, and it’s a good question why he has an inability to delegate,” said Ratner. “There’s a sense of bureaucratic paralysis, officials don’t want to take certain actions or report bad news, and that will lead to bad decision-making down the line.”

He is also known as the “core leader”, a distinction trumpeted on countless red propaganda banners hanging in every city in China. While it does not confer any specific powers, it sends a strong message Xi is firmly in control.

Little beige book

Mao had his little red book, a pocket-sized collection of quotations that loyal followers carried everywhere.

Xi has his own version, although it is far less portable. The off-white tome has a colour portrait of Xi with red lettering displaying the bland title: The Governance of China. It has so far run over two volumes and is a collection of speeches and his thoughts outlining his plans for the political future of the country.

“Xi seems to fundamentally believe China needs to be saved, believes the Communist party is the only entity that can do that and he believes he’s the only person that can lead it,” said Varrall.

A book written by Chinese president Xi Jinping is displayed at a bookshop in Beijing, China. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA

Loyalty or (career) death

Supporters of China’s authoritarian government have often praised what they describe as collective leadership: the leader is unelected, but he is heavily influenced by the six other powerful men who sit on the politburo standing committee.

Xi has centralised power in his own hands to a greater extent than even Deng Xiaoping, and for junior officials to critique Xi’s policies would amount to career suicide.

“If he makes a policy mistake, no one is going to be there to correct him,” said Shih. “What used to be healthy policy debates will turn into sycophancy.”

Shih pointed to the creation of a new city called Xiong’an, meant to be a satellite capital to Beijing where non-essential departments are based, as a “massive waste” helmed by Xi.

In theory absolute power comes with absolute responsibility, but so far Xi has been able to deflect the blame for crises, like a stock market meltdown in 2015.

Tree worshipping

Officials stand in front of a tree which was planted by Chinese president Xi Jinping. Photograph: Dahe.cn

The sycophancy has reached such heights that last year, senior provincial officials were bussed in to gaze upon a tree planted by Xi and consider the mission of the Communist party. The excursion was followed by a reading of a poem about a dogged propaganda official from the 1960s, composed by Xi himself.

“It’s incredibly excessive and very deliberate,” said Ratner. “The effort to which Chinese propagandists are going to elevate him to a great man and a great leader is at times excessive to the point of parody.”

Xi has also made his own trips to prominent sites in Communist party history, highlighting his nostalgia for some aspects of the Mao era. He started a trend that saw many officials recite the party oath at historical sites.