The article analyzes the main approaches to the study of such a phenomenon as political leadership, its understanding in the context of Chinese philosophy and also makes an analysis of presence of the political leadership topic in the national media discourse. In today's context, political leadership plays a crucial role in development of each country, since in terms of globalization processes it is one of the key moments of the spread of state influence on society. Thanks to the media, the

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... vities of the political leader become public, and China is no exception — here also the representation of political leadership occupies a prominent place in the national media discourse. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that no philosophical aspects of political leadership in the national media discourse have been previously studied. The article also focuses on the influence of media discourse on the process of change in the perception of political leadership in China. The research methodology consists in the analysis of scientific publications and practical experience in the functioning of Chinese society. It also carries out a content analysis of media publications on a given problem. Based on the results of the analysis, it makes a conclusion that that the institution of political leadership in China has many specific characteristics arising from the doctrine of «paternalism with Chinese characteristics». It also confirmed the hypothesis that modern ideas about political leadership in China have a close relationship with Chinese philosophy and this relationship is traced in the national media discourse.