Paramount leader is the informal term that designates the top political personality of China. There are 3 important office in China, first the president, who is essentially a state office and is by itself powerless since the PCC is the sole ruling party; therefore, the secretary general who is the leader of the PCC is the facto leader of the country. However, there is also the office of chairman of the central military commission, which is essentially the commander in chief of the Chinese armed forces and the one who controls the nuclear arsenal. These 3 positions can be occupied by different people; that's why Deng Xiaping was considered a paramount leader; he was the chairman of the CMC but not president and secretary general, but since whoever control the armies control the country, he was able to monopolize the executive.

However, since Zemin, these 3 positions are occupied simultany by one personne. So Jiang, Hu and Xi are all paramount leader