James Pomfret, Laurie Chen, Mei Mei Chu and Antoni Slodkowski
When Chinese leader Xi Jinping organised his first parade to mark the anniversary of the end of World War Two, in 2015, he placed his two predecessors by his side in a show of respect and continuity of leadership.
Ten years on and having eliminated domestic opposition as he serves an unprecedented third term as president, Xi was flanked on Wednesday at the 80th anniversary parade by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Chinese Communist Party leaders were interspersed among overseas guests.
The parade followed Xi's high-profile summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a weekend meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin, and the Chinese leader's rare visit to Tibet last month.
This display of diplomatic clout, stamina and geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns among some China observers about the 72-year-old president's vitality, linked to sporadic absences and - so far unknown - succession plans. It has also helped divert domestic attention from slowing growth, experts say.
Longevity was on the leaders' minds as they walked up to the rostrum at Beijing's Tiananmen Square - Xi and Putin were caught in a hot mic moment discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.
"This week of triumphant diplomacy for Xi shows that he remains totally in charge of the elite politics of the Communist Party," said Neil Thomas of the Asia Society, a New York-based think tank. Unable to get the same legitimacy from economic growth as his predecessors, Xi has turned toward nationalism "to try and make up for it", Thomas said.
"It's a way to divert attention from economic challenges and to make his citizens proud to be Chinese, even if it's harder to feel that from the day-to-day experiences of unemployment, falling house prices and stagnant wages."
No comments:
Post a Comment