Exhibition on Xi Jinping's 5 years shows China's military might, skips India

The Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has showcased its military modernisation as a key achievement of Xi Jinping's first five-year-term, which ends on October 18, in an official exhibition unveiled in Beijing.

The exhibition, organised by the CPC Central Committee, is aimed at showing the Chinese public Xi's "major achievements" since he took over as general secretary in November 2012, and is significant in reflecting what the leadership saw as key priorities.

The sprawling exhibition in Beijing's massive Soviet-style exhibition centre hailed Xi's "major country diplomacy", and the section of the exhibition on diplomatic achievements showed his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It also specifically mentioned that China "has built an all-weather strategic partnership with Pakistan", as it showed a photograph of Politburo Standing Committee Yu Zhengsheng visiting Pakistan in April and meeting with Raza Rabbani, Chairman of the Pakistani Senate.

India wasn't mentioned in the context of China's "major country diplomacy", barring a photograph of Prime Minister Modi and other BRICS leaders attending the Xiamen summit in September. The only other mention of India was a photograph showing a delegation of Indian youths before their visit to China in 2014.

Exhibits on display at the Chinese Communist Party's exhibition.

One of the exhibition's largest sections showcased the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) modernisation over the past five years, highlighting China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, its fifth-generation stealth fighter, and the opening of the first Chinese overseas military base in Djibouti.

"We are building a modern military capable of winning battles", a guide told a group of diplomats and reporters on Friday. "Under Chairman Xi, we have undertaken comprehensive and revolutionary reforms of the military."

CHINA TO FIRMLY DEFEND ITS SOVEREIGNTY

The message to the public was that China would firmly defend its sovereignty. The exhibition also underlined China's island-building and steps to assert its claims over the disputed South China Sea.

Of border areas, one photograph showed a unit of the newly-setup PLA Rocket Force "practicing a manoeuver drill in a high-altitude area".

It also showed how Xi has disciplined the army with a "mass line campaign". One photograph showed soldiers of the Xinjiang theater command, which borders India, speaking with their commander while patrolling.

The other exhibits showed China's technological progress during the past five years, highlighting its new 350 km/h high-speed trains, its deep sea submersible as well as recent advancements in using artificial intelligence.

Xi's sweeping corruption crackdown was also highlighted, with photographs of key top leaders ensnared in the corruption crackdown including former security czar Zhou Yongkang, Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, and former PLA General Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong. The exhibition even displayed letters reportedly written by caught officials showing their repentance.

Xi Jinping dominated the exhibits, with the other leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang, only figuring in the margins in photographs where the entire leadership was shown.

Photographs and videos showed Xi as "a man of the people". "Xi has proven to be a charismatic leader, who cares about the well-being of Chinese people", the tour guide told visitors.

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