A maskless President Xi Jinping met Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel in Beijing, resuming his flurry of in-person summits even as a record COVID-19 surge fanned lockdown fears in the Chinese capital.
Xi expressed a willingness to “deepen trust” between the two nations during the talks, according to a video clip posted by state broadcaster China Central Television on Friday. The meeting represented Xi’s first public appearance since returning six days ago from a series of meetings in Southeast Asia, where images of the Chinese leader without a mask suggested he had a new tolerance for living with the virus.
Diaz-Canel, who was also maskless, said he was honored to be able to “personally greet you on this visit,” the state broadcaster said. The two had inspected honor guards and attended a banquet as part of Diaz-Canel’s visit, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
