Xi Jinping’s trip to Xinjiang this week was the latest stop in a campaign-style tour that demonstrates the Chinese president’s willingness to defy foreign pressure before he secures a precedent-breaking third term.
Xi spent Tuesday through Friday visiting sites in the far western region that highlight policies the U.S. and other Western nations say amount to genocide against the region’s Muslim minority. He called Beijing’s policy on minorities “good and effective,” state radio reported Friday. It follows similar trips to Hong Kong, where he praised a crackdown on the pro-democratic opposition, and the central city of Wuhan, where he reaffirmed China’s controversial zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
The victory lap comes in the final run-up to a twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle, in which Xi is expected to gain Communist Party approval to stay in power for at least another five years. Xi’s effort to show that China is strong enough to overcome its own internal challenges without bowing to external criticism has helped propel him to the pivotal moment.
