CCTV FOLLIES 4.16 THE HOT POTATO IS PASSED TO LI
Olaf Scholz gets short shrift -Xi grants a meeting on the side but passes Scholz off to Li Qiang for the state ceremony at Tiananmen -Iran's actions justified -Russia bombs away, also justified
Welcome to the Diaoyutai Guesthouse on the west side of Beijing!
Xi does a meet and greet with the German Chancellor in the same cozy hall that is used for meetings of non-state actors such as Bill Gates and Henry Kissinger.
The fancy state-to-state ceremonial stuff at Tiananmen Square, where Xi extended full diplomatic courtesy and honors this month to the leaders of Suriname and Micronesia, is relegated to number two today, with Premier Li Qiang getting the honor of making the perhaps slightly unwanted German guest feel more wanted.
A less formal meeting is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it allows real work to get done and real communication to take place. But Xi is a stickler for protocol, and sees himself as the center of the universe, so getting snubbed at Tiananmen is not trivial. What’s more, Xi used his brief meeting with Scholz to release his grandiose, and utterly fatuous peace plan for Ukraine. (short version “Play nice with Putin”)
So the meeting was likely more of a mawkish lecture than the meeting of equals.
The photos aired by CCTV do not suggest a meeting of minds or a happy reunion but rather a perfunctory show. Scholz looks irritable if not frustrated in most of the shots that made it on TV and Xi looks as regal as a paunchy man with pancake makeup and pomade-greased bouffant hair can reasonably expect to look.
“Currently, transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and humanity faces growing risks and challenges. These problems can not be resolved without major-country cooperation.” Xi said.
“There is huge potential to be tapped for pursuing win-win cooperation in both traditional sectors such as machinery and automobile and new areas such as green transition, digitization and artificial intelligence. It is important for the two sides to promote the win-win features of their relations and enable each other to succeed. It is important for the two countries to stay vigilant against the rise of protectionism, adopt an objective and dialectical view on the issue of production capacity through a market and global perspective and based on the laws of economics and devote more efforts to the discussion on cooperation.
Xi puts forth four principles to resolve Ukraine crisis:
“China is not a party to the Ukraine crisis, but has consistently promoted talks for peace in its own way,” Xi underscored in his talks with Scholz. “Under the current circumstances, all parties should commit to an early restoration of peace to prevent the conflict from escalating and even spiraling out of control.”
“To this end, a number of principles should be followed: first, focusing on the overall interest of peace and stability rather than seeking selfish gains; second, cooling down the situation rather than adding fuel to the fire* Third, accumulating conditions for restoring peace rather than further aggravating tensions; and fourth, reducing the negative impact on the world economy rather than undermining the stability of global industrial and supply chains.**
(translation via Xinhua)
(Ed note)
* “Fuel to the fire” is code for US and NATO support of Ukraine
**Undermining stability” is code for US-directed sanctions
The camera works assures viewers this is not a relationship of equals. At times it looks more like an elderly schoolboy being lectured. At other times, a seeker of tribute getting the bum’s rush.
As for Scholz’s remarks, as reported by Chinese state media, he basically supports Xi’s position and is super-impressed.
Scholz: “I have witnessed the great economic progress China made over recent years.”
But the side meeting wasn’t a complete bust. Diaoyutai has a nice garden. Xinhua reports that the two men took a walk on the grounds of the guesthouse and had lunch together.
Strangely inserted into the middle of Scholz-related news, which by CCTV’s own protocol should be the top story, we get a report about a new article in the prestigious magazine Qiushi written by none other than Xi and illustrated with epic photos of Xi in action. The camera takes its time, showing every single page of the article like an E-reader. And then it’s back to what’s-his-name?
Oh, right. The German Chancellor is visiting!
But where is he? CCTV’s sharp-eyed camera crew has lost sight of the VIP guest!
Ah, there he is.
That’s a nice, albeit slightly blurred image, but he’s mostly in the frame. At least he’s smiling.
A grand time was had by all in accord with the red carpet treatment.
Well, at least the flags were photogenic.
Even when CCTV composes a two-shot, the technicians make sure the focus is on the Chinese leader. They loom bigger in the frame, and awkward gestures get edited out. As for the diminutive German visitor, he looks uncomfortable at times.
China’s titular number three Zhao Leji, thought to be somewhat in disfavor of Xi who generally prefers his major domo and main enforcer Cai Qi, gets some obligatory screen time looking positively grumpy as he presides over an NPC meeting.
4/16 update: Xi Jinping met Olaf Scholz in the Great Hall in 2022 as can be seen in the screenshot below. The visit had all the first-class optics a Great Hall visit involves. Protocol is important to the rites-obsessed Xi, but sometimes flexibility is called for. For Scholz to get the “Full Monty” treatment twice in two years might be a bit much, even for ceremonial sticklers.
But the subpar camera work accorded to Scholz in his most recent visit this month visit does raise the question of how Scholz is meant to be seen in the eyes of Chinese viewers.
CCTV's usually meticulous camerawork is so sloppy here it makes Scholz look a lot like a junior partner to Li and supplicant to the almighty Xi.
But in Xi’s New Era China, the farmers are happy and love to pose for photo ops. Here husking corn makes them so happy they dress in red, and who can blame them?
The red flag flies proudly above all citizens, Han and minority alike.
World News
In foreign news, the world waits with bated breath to see how the problematic Israeli war cabinet will react to having gotten slammed, albeit with little practical effect, by a massive Iranian missile strike and drone barrage.
Iran is willing to stop the tit for tat violence so long as they get in the last shot.
China’s FM Wang Yi basically agrees, saying Iran’s attack was legitimate “self-defense” in the wake of Israel’s April 1 bombing of Iranians in Syria. Once Iran has properly flexed and vented itself, it is time for restraint and peace.
Iran missile shots as seen from the source, courtesy of Iran media.
Peace. Does Putin even know the word? Here’s the latest ruthless bombing over a country he invaded two years ago and can’t make much headway in, but keeps up the killing rather than admit he was wrong.
And Xi thinks the world needs to play nice with Putin?
CCTV relies very heavily on Russian Ministry of Defense footage, and usually identifies it as such, as can be seen in the ground shots below. But the dramatic aerial footage of missiles and bombs being dropped from mid-air goes uncredited.