Xi Jinping’s once-total control of the Chinese military and the Chinese Communist Party is looking increasingly shaky — and President Donald Trump has a chance to help hasten the dictator’s departure.
Last month I explained in these pages why Xi, China’s “Chairman of Everything” since 2012, might soon be out of power.
Critics scoffed — but on July 2 Beijing announced that Xi, for the first time, would miss this year’s BRICS Summit in Brazil.
Xi had long used the annual BRICS meeting as a domestic showpiece for his international leadership, with every Chinese press organ reporting on his summit speeches and activities in multiple front-page stories.
The blanket coverage strengthened Xi’s perceived power at home, so the chance that he volunteered to miss this year’s BRICS Summit is next to none.
Furthermore, Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan has not been seen in public for more than two months, and Ma Xingrui,