Contrast between Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang leadership styles catches media eyes
Aug 23, 2022
Hong Kong, August 23 : The recent public meetings held by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang have been a subject of hot debate among the China analyst.
Non-mainstream HK media has pointed out differences based on the recent visit by Li Keqiang to Shenzhen and Xi to Liaoning province just after the Beidaihe meetings.
When Xi Jinping is speaking, the people are not allowed to ask questions at will.
When Li Keqiang is speaking, the people can ask questions at any time, and Li Keqiang sometimes deliberately asks the public some questions for them to answer.
During Xi Jinping's interaction with the masses, the people were not allowed to take pictures with their mobile phones. When Li Keqiang interacted with the public, many took out their mobile phones to take pictures of Li.
When Xi speaks, the people are neatly arranged in a large semicircle.
Xi Jinping stands at the centre of the semicircle and speaks to the public with a microphone more than 10 meters away from them; when Li interacts, the people are all arranged randomly. Li stands 2 or 3 meters away from the crowd and speaks loudly and interacts with the surrounding crowd.
When Xi comes out to interact with the public, the scene had already been strictly cleared. When Li arrives, the bodyguards clear the scene then and there, freeing up a small space for Li to talk to the masses.
The videos of Xi Jinping interacting with the people have been reprinted through state media; while the videos of Li Keqiang interacting with the people have been blocked on the entire network in China.
Xi's and Li's interactions mostly have always been like that. The comparison brings out that most of the interactions that Xi has when he inspects places are highly coordinated and controlled.