This crackdown is widely seen by human rights groups and church leaders as a sign of a broader push by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under President Xi Jinping to assert tighter control over religious expression—especially those Christian groups outside of state-sanctioned oversight. This crackdown is widely seen by human rights groups and church leaders as a sign of a broader push by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under President Xi Jinping to assert tighter control over religious expression—especially those Christian groups outside of state-sanctioned oversight.