ESSAY: A bow, not quite a kowtow

Diplomats from the four seas were granted a rare audience on April 24 with the paramount leader. Most nod, bow, or curtsy. A few of them don't. To kowtow is not obligatory; more a case of nerves.

The central leader of the central committee holds forth in the political center of Central Kingdom, his podium carefully aligned with the central imperial axis (upon which only emperors could walk) that runs from Tiananmen Gate through the feudal Forbidden Palace of yore and on to fabled Jingshan Hill directly to the north. Diplomats flank him left and right, but the CCTV camera privileges the central axis which clearly sets Xi apart from the other mere mortals. China’s two top diplomats, Qian Gang and Wang Yi, sit to the side like mere courtiers. A modern twist added this traditional power flex is the masking up, required of Chinese subordinates and additionally required of foreign diplomats after the mask-free photo op of presenting their credentials.

“China has kicked off a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and will advance national rejuvenation on all fronts through the Chinese path toward modernization” said Chairman Xi Jinping to some of the worl…