CARTOON RENDITION: A screenshot of the video How Leaders Are Made, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders appear in the form of cartoon figures (FILE)

In a five-minute online video, Chinese President Xi Jinping has for the first time appeared with a cartoon body. The animation, called How Leaders Are Made, depicts Xi's rise to become China's top leader.

The video, available in both Chinese and English, has been viewed over 2.4 million times since its upload to Youku.com on October 14.

The cartoon makes reference to the respective governing systems in China, the United States and Britain. The English-version mentions that the path to China's presidency resembled that of "training a kung-fu master."

Xi's rise to presidency commenced as a community-level official in Shaanxi Province during the 1970s. The process from local to city and provincial leadership, and then eventually to president, involved "16 major job transfers and the governing of over 150 million people more than 40 years."

The video clip also depicts six other members of China's top leadership, who "have made similar journeys, one step at a time."

In the United States and Britain, the path to leadership is not an easy one either, according to the video. A presidential candidate must build a campaign team, deliver speeches and raise as much money as possible. In an interesting metaphor used by the narrator, becoming U.S. president is described as harder than winning American Idol.

In the cartoon, the path to British prime minister includes ascending to the leadership of one's political party and then clinching a parliamentary majority.

"David Cameron's chance was way narrower than Susan Boyle's at winning 'Britain's Got Talent'," the narrator continues.

Despite its success, the cartoon's author is only known by its username "Workshop on Fuxing Road," which is Mandarin for "on the road to revival." Many have suspected the cartoon was actually produced by the government. Nevertheless, the video was met with public approval.

"The Chinese political system is usually considered dull and boring. But now, the cartoon makes it funnier and approachable," said an online user via Sina Weibo.

Apart from China, the video clip has grabbed the attention of many international media outlets, its English-language version watched more than 27,000 times, as reported by AFP on October 18.

Singapore-based Channel News Asia said the cartoon reflects a subtle change in China's public relations, while Business Insider indicated that the video wants to reach a wider international audience.

Email us at: baishi@bjreview.com