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The real message behind Beijing’s back-to-back summits
Visits by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the span of a week underscore how Xi Jinping is positioning China at the centre of a fractured world order.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 20.
PHOTO: EPA
The honour guards were back on the tarmac, as were the enthusiastic flag-waving young people. It was the same elaborate Great Hall welcome, the same ceremonial troops and gun salute, the same bouncing children.
Beijing had essentially recycled the state pageantry it rolled out last week for visiting US President Donald Trump for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
