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China Briefing | With the party over, Beijing needs to see progress on Hong Kong, US trade talks
- The contrast between Beijing’s lavish National Day celebrations and the chaos on Hong Kong’s streets is a fitting metaphor of the challenges China’s leaders face
- On both the trade war and Hong Kong, it might be time for Beijing to take a more flexible approach
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The contrast could not be starker. On October 1 in Beijing, China’s leadership orchestrated grand military and civilian parades during the day and a mass hi-tech pageantry of song, dance and fireworks during the night to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
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The same day and night in Hong Kong, black-clad protesters were determined to spoil the country’s big anniversary by turning much of the city into a battleground in one of the most violent episodes in nearly four months of protests.
On the day when President Xi Jinping used the grand rally, aimed at projecting national confidence and unity, to declare that no force could ever undermine China’s status, or stop the Chinese people and nation from marching forward, the violent protests in Hong Kong sent a quite different message that many people in the city did not share Xi’s vision. That point was underlined by the dramatic photos, carried by the media around the world, of a Hong Kong police officer shooting a teenage protester in the chest at close range.
In a way, the contrast is a fitting metaphor of the severe challenges the Chinese leadership faces at a time of profound international and domestic change. These challenges include the trade war with the United States, and a slowing Chinese economy.
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Now that the big party is over, how Xi and his administration set about tackling those challenges will be closely watched around the world.
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