But his focus has turned to South Africa's black leaders, corruption and nepotism.
French officials have discouraged scrutiny of African leaders' corruption, the fruits of which often end up in Paris.
In January 2006 Fatah's loss to Hamas in a general election was owing to resentment of its leaders' corruption and abuse of power.
"Media have played a key role in uncovering Arab leaders' corruption," according to Azmi Shuaibi, the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network's Non-Governmental Group coordinator.
The decline of the period of the Pax Mongolica was a result of a number of factors, these being incompetent and rivaling leaders, corruption, revolts, decadence, factional struggles, assassinations, external attacks, and disease.
Now we have a deeper appreciation of the saying, allegedly attributed to a former top Chinese leader, that "corruption will kill the party; fighting corruption will kill it, too".
Last week, a lawyer for Clarence Norman Jr., the Brooklyn Democratic Party leader facing corruption charges, created a bit of a mystery.
But they may also consider the outpouring of popular support extended to Mr. Prasad or Jaganmohan Reddy, another regional leader facing corruption charges.
For Mr Xi, who is himself a "princeling" son of a top Communist leader, fighting corruption is essential if the party is to maintain its 64-year hold on power.
But that was before the failed State Senate coup in June, the defeat of several high-profile elected officials in November and the conviction in December of Joseph L. Bruno, the former Senate majority leader, for corruption.
