People's Daily publishes turgid account of Xi's chat with Obama

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-11-16

Xi Jinping and Barack Obama at an opening ceremony welcoming the US
president in Beijing on Nov. 12. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily has published its account of conversations between Chinese president Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama in the Zhongnanhai government compound in Beijing on the popular social messaging app WeChat on Friday, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

Xi reportedly said the reason that he chose to meet at Zhongnanhai, the central headquarters of the Communist Party of China, is because the Kangxi Emperor pondered his plans to quell civil unrest and recover Taiwan there.

He said Zhongnanhai is also the location where the Guangxu Emperor was confined by the Empress Dowager Cixi after she stepped in to overrule his plans for constitutional reform in the late years of the Qing Dynasty.

Obama said China and the United States have similar experiences in their respective histories and courage is always needed since reforms often encounter obstacles.

Xi said Chinese culture has always emphasized national unity and values its sovereignty even more highly since it has been invaded by foreign forces multiple times in its history. Its people are also often sensitive to external threats toward sovereignty and national security, Xi said.

Obama responded by saying he understands why Chinese people value unification and stability. The US supports China's reform and opening up and has no intention of containing China since it would not be in US interests to do so.

The published account said the US president was curious about the garden and asked where Xi usually handles official business. After Xi pointed at his office, Obama said he also takes walks at the White House but it was not as big as Zhongnanhai.