A recent scene at a dusty Inner Mongolia military base provided evidence of Chinese President Xi Jinping's consolidation of political power even as he faces pushback in his ruling Communist Party ahead of a critical gathering next month.
Dressed in army fatigues on July 30, Xi reviewed a military parade marking the 90th founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army. Breaking with precedent at such events, Xi — who is head of the party and the military as well as president — did not share the stage with peers or party elders.
PLA Gen. Fan Changlong, in a further departure from the norm, hailed Xi as "lingxiu," or leader, a reverent honorific bestowed only on two others since the 1949 founding of the People's Republic of China: Chairman Mao Zedong and his short-lived successor, Hua Guofeng.