In a highly choreographed ceremony in Beijing Wednesday, Xi said his leadership will be "steadfast in upholding our country's sovereignty, security and development interests."

The move caps a years-long effort by Xi to "make China great again," said James McGregor, author of "No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism."

"He has this narrative of 'China was great, the foreigners ruined it, and the party has brought it back'."

Political leadership

During this month's Communist Party Congress, "Xi Jinping Thought" was enshrined in China's constitution, an honor only granted to two other leaders: Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

In a speech during the political summit, held every five years, Xi heralded the start of a "new era" for the party and China, building on those overseen by Mao and Deng.

"Mao established the People's Republic of China, Deng brought the country wealth and now Xi is going to bring power," said Frank Ching, a Hong Kong-based commentator and expert on Chinese politics.

McGregor told CNN that "given the chaos in Washington and also the dysfunction in Europe, the world is looking for leadership," a vacuum Beijing is attempting to fill.

"Dressed up in the benign slogan of the 'China Dream', Xi's strengthening of the party at home and his determination to press Beijing's claim abroad has profound implications for China, its neighbors, and the rest of the world."

Ching said that China is "now present all over the world, and as the US recedes, China is going to move in."

Two new members of Xi's cabinet, Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning, have strong foreign policy credentials in line with Xi's desire for a more muscular overseas policy.

International assertiveness

Nowhere has Xi's new bullish leadership been more obvious than in China's foreign and military policy.

"More than his predecessors, Xi has tried to leverage China's diplomatic and military strength to press Beijing's territorial claims in the East China and South China Seas, and lock in the country's interests on its western flank," the Lowy Institute report said.

Tong Zhao, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing, said there has been speculation Xi "will have more bandwidth for addressing the North Korea threat after the Party Congress."

He was skeptical of this however, saying the Trump administration's policy of an immediate denuclearization of North Korea was "seen as a total illusion, completely unrealistic, and potentially dangerous in China."

Military might

Speaking on the 90th anniversary of the founding of PLA in August, Xi emphasized the party's "absolute leadership" over the military, which he has pushed hard to modernize and which has been a major target of anti-corruption efforts.

In his speech, Xi emphasized the importance of the PLA's combat readiness, saying that ongoing reforms of the army are key to ensuring its "readiness to defend state sovereignty and maritime interests."

However, Beijing's posture, particularly its aggressive military and economic moves, could backfire, as previous world powers have discovered when they attempted to export their influence overseas.

While China has benefited from political instability in Europe and Trump's "America First" policy, McGregor said the country "doesn't have a lot of friends right now because there's been so much of a strong stance."

"Their (position) is for China to be strong and on its own, I don't think they've looked at repercussions for the world and the way it's making the world view China," he added.