Xi Jinping’s Words of Warning Echo China’s Youthful Nationalism
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the teachings of Mao Zedong have been redeployed to stoke nationalism among a new generation of communist party members.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP
To Western ears at least, President Xi Jinping’s speech marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) struck an ominous tone, particularly at a moment when relations with the U.S. are at a three-decade low. Just this week, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. and Japan have been conducting war games and military exercises in the event of a conflict with China over Taiwan.
Foreign forces, warned Xi, who try to “bully, coerce and enslave” China will “break their heads on the steel Great Wall built with the blood and flesh of 1.4 billion Chinese people.”