Why Xi Jinping is missing from the world stage

Why Xi Jinping is missing from the world stage

For how long can you stay at home one month three months six months an entire year maybe how about 654 days can you stay at home for almost two years most of us would reach a breaking point if we remain locked up for that long but not xi jinping he seems to prefer self-isolation he hasn't left china for 654 days now one year nine months and 15 days to be exact china has gone back to work but not its president he still prefers to work from home the united nations met in september xi jinping wasn't.

Tere the g20 summit happened last weekend xi jinping joined on video call the cop 26 summit is on in glasgow xi jinping isn't there either he's missing every global engagement why doesn't the chinese president want to leave beijing why is he hiding from the world what is he trying to avoid his absence is fueling speculation is there a health scare is someone challenging his grip on power is he embarrassed to face the world these questions are being asked and for good reason you see before the pandemic xi jinping had built up a facade he positioned himself as the guardian of a multinational order it was hard to believe. 

But that's what he tried to do but the wuhan virus has destroyed all of that it has killed his international image on gravitas tonight we'll tell you how xi jinping went from being a globalization icon to an international pariah we'll start with a billion dollar question why is xi jinping not leaving china like always china won't tell some say xi jinping does not want to travel because of the pandemic and that's the most obvious excuse also an excuse that nobody is buying now the thing about truth is that it finds a way to come out even the great chinese firewall cannot block it forever look at this report the one on your screen it suggests that all is not well in beijing it says the communist party is dealing with two problems problem number one is the president's health apparently chinese officials. 

According to this report are quote unquote preoccupied with protecting xi jinping's health what does that mean does it mean that the president is not keeping well well the report does not specify and we cannot independently verify but if that's the case if his health is a concern xi jinping is in for some tough times ahead his position as president could be challenged and that's problem number two internal party politics and a lot of it next year you see is critical for xi jinping he wants to extend his tenure as president for five more years remember he got rid of term limits for chinese presidents so now he can have as many terms as he wants but he will still need a seal of approval and that is going to happen next year if all goes well for him this month there is an important meeting a summit of the central committee of the communist party that's the top decision-making body of china's ruling party they're expected to discuss a resolution a resolution that will cement xi jinping's authority and legacy further so far so good but china's domestic troubles could derail the celebration and a lot of his plans the wuhan virus is raging in china again last week 11 provinces were reporting fresh cases the real estate sector is imploding we've been reporting on this so far at least five developers have defaulted they have missed payments worth billions of dollars the debt bomb in china is exploding one default at a time plus china faces an energy crunch amid power outages petrol prices have shot up in the country all of these problems have handicapped xi jinping they're forcing him to look inwards and for the chinese president that's the only option at the moment even if he wants to step outside not many countries are willing to extend a grand welcome to him and xi jinping wants nothing less than that the chinese president wants the red carpet to be rolled out he wants to address parliaments he wants the royal treatment wherever he goes and i'm not the one saying it that's what former western diplomats have told an american newspaper.

These are people who organized xi jinping's visits in the past and they say that these are his expectations well he'll have to lower them now the world no longer trusts china survey after survey proves that people around the world view china unfavorably they view beijing as the aggressor in conflicts they label the communist party as the enemy so traveling outside china will only invite more trouble for xi jinping he'll be greeted with protests he's going to face tough questions from his counterparts about the origins of the pandemic the human rights abuses in xinjiang the crackdown in hong kong the military tensions with india and taiwan all of it is going to be brought up and a lot of these problems are not new but in the past china was able to buy the silence of the world it waves its checkbook and it gets rid of rid of difficult questions that may not happen anymore the chinese economy is no longer an engine of global growth it is tanking economists say china is growing through going through stagflation that's stagnation plus inflation stagflation it means economic growth in china has stagnated or slowed unemployment is growing and inflation is rising so xi jinping is embattled at home and isolated abroad and all of this means one thing his position as a leader is weakening.