On Nov 15 Xi Jinping became general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee as well as chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission.

How does China's new leader see the world, and how will he handle the country's foreign policy? Will his style and preferences differ significantly from those of his predecessors? The answers will determine China's relations with the world, and vice versa, for the next decade.

For starters, Xi is part of a generation raised and educated mostly in China's reform era, which has had a decisive influence in their lives.