WASHINGTON, D.C.: United States President Joe Biden's administration is taking stock of a newly empowered Xi Jinping as the Chinese president begins a third, norm-breaking five-year term as Communist Party leader. With US-Chinese relations already fraught, concerns are growing in Washington that more difficult days may be ahead.

Xi has amassed a measure of power over China's ruling party unseen since Mao Zedong, who led the East Asian country from 1949 until his death in 1976. Xi's consolidation of power comes as the US has updated its defense and national security strategies to reflect that China is now America's most potent military and economic adversary.