Mao suits all round for Xi Jinping and his entourage at gala dinner in Spain

These days, Chinese leaders usually follow the Western approach to formal dress when they attend diplomatic functions abroad.

But at a gala dinner in Madrid hosted by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain on Wednesday, the men in Xi Jinping’s delegation swapped their business suits for something a little more traditional.

Accompanied by first lady Peng Liyuan, the Chinese president wore a dark grey tunic suit with embroidery and a black pocket square – a modified version of the Zhongshan suit named for early revolutionary Sun Yat-sen and popularised by Mao Zedong.

And for the first time on such an occasion overseas, all of his entourage followed his sartorial lead – wearing either Mao suits, as they are known in the West, or pseudo-traditional Tangzhuang jackets with straight collars.

“It was a very formal occasion, and wearing Chinese formal dress conforms to the dress code of such an occasion,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang explained when asked about the Chinese delegation’s dinner attire at a regular press briefing on Friday.