China's Xi allowed to remain 'president for life' as term limits removed
As I was watching a portion of President Xi’s address to his nation on MSNBC as he sat in front of a painting of, perhaps ironically, the Great Wall, I was stuck by how soft-spoken and relaxed he was.
At the same time as I was watching TV I was looking at the main page of The Washington Post and the paragraph shown above in the little box jumped out at me: “In an address referencing China's support for multilateral institutions and developing countries, Xi Jinping appeared to be differentiating himself from President Trump.”
You don’t even have to go beyond the Washington Post title and photo to note how un-Trumpian President Xi is: “China’s Xi backs WHO-led review of covid-19 outbreak, proposes aid for developing world.”
Excerpt:
Xi used his speaking platform on Monday to not only support the mooted international review once the pandemic was over but to air his own initiatives. Framing China as a defender of the international community and particularly the developing world, Xi announced a $2 billion donation to the international fight against covid-19 and offered to help set up hospitals and health infrastructure in Africa.
In an address that contained repeated references to China’s support for multilateral institutions and developing countries, particularly in Africa, Xi appeared to be differentiating himself from Trump at a time when the two countries are locked in a duel over economic primacy and global influence.
Any vaccines produced by China would also be considered a global public good and shared, Xi said. He called on countries to lend their support to the critical work of the WHO and Tedros after both were accused by President Trump of deference to the Chinese government. Trump ordered a temporary freeze on WHO funding in April and said on Twitter this weekend he is weighing how to proceed.
Although Xi did not specify a recipient for his $2 billion pledge, that amount would overshadow the amount of WHO funding that the United States promised before it was frozen last month. During the 2018-2019 two-year period, the United States committed to contributing about $893 million to the WHO budget, which came to $5.6 billion in total, according to funding data published by the agency.
“At this critical juncture, to support the WHO is to support international cooperation and the battle to save lives,” Xi said. “China takes as its responsibility not only the lives and health of its citizens but global public health.”
Here’s an article in the Japanese Nikkei Assian Review, which owns The Financial Times and is the flagship publication and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding three million. From Wikipedia
Xi deflects criticism of China coronavirus actions in WHO address
You can read the full text of President Xi’s speech here.
It was published in The Global Times which is an organ of the Chinese Community Party.
The Global Times also published an editorial which was quoted as follows in The Washington Post article: .“A politicized appeal won’t be supported at the assembly,” the Global Times said in an editorial (Virus Investigation Must Be Fair, Scientific)
“The U.S. has messed up its covid-19 fight but intends to shift the responsibility to China. Such a plan is bound to backfire.”
Who could have predicted that we’d ever be differentiating an authoritarian leader like Xi with an American president and finding that in some ways the leader who runs a dictatorial regime has demonstrated positive traits a worldwide crisis in where our president is at his worst?
THE POLL: Please try to pick one of the two. I’ll give you an “out” if you don't want to do so.