in 2021, the chinese president gained power and stature, and some now put xi jinping on par with mao the tse dong. china is moving farther away from thecrac democracies. >> reporter: it's not hard to see who is in charge here. there are pictures of president xi jinping all over. this poster addressing the firefighting community. at the center of life here is the chinese communist party. but at the center of the party, this man, xi jinping. 2021 saw major steps to further consolidate power. in an early november meeting of china's ruling elite, the 400 or