Xi.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accorded the honor of "Person of the Year 2014" by a non-governmental and non-commercial organization based in Moscow, Russia, said a report by China Daily.
The Russian Biographical Institute gave the award to Xi for the "strengthening of economic and political ties with Russia," according to the report.
The Chinese president became the first awarded from a non-member country of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Founded in 1992, the Russian Biographical Institute gives its "Person of the Year" award to people who are "guided by the principles of social, spiritual responsibility," said the China Daily report.
Other recipients of the award this year are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
According to scholars, the award symbolizes the growing popularity of China among nations of the world, and this has positively impacted the reputation of its president.
"China is fast-developing country with growing global influence. It is natural that more and more attention is being attached to its leader and decision-maker," said Zheng Yu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Renmin University of China professor Zhong Xin, meanwhile, said that Xi's book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," has also helped give the Chinese leader a positive image.
"There are a lot of overseas scholars who still believe in the China threat theory. At least, the popularity of Xi's book can help to eliminate the misunderstanding. His language is very simple but contains a lot of information, and he doesn't mention a lot of ideological confrontation," Zhong said.
