Xi Jinping's Visits to Northern Theater Command Reduced to Mere Consolation Duties?

The image shows representatives from the Chinese military attending the Two Sessions in Beijing. (Video screenshot)

[People News] As per tradition, before the Chinese New Year, Xi Jinping, as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), visits a military unit to inspect and console officers and soldiers. This year, he visited the Northern Theater Command, accompanied by Zhang Youxia, the CMC's first vice-chairman, and Huang Ming, commander of the Northern Theater Command.

According to reports from PLA Daily and CCTV, Xi first arrived at the Northern Theater Command headquarters, where he posed for a group photo with representatives of the officers and soldiers. He then joined senior military officials in a conference room for a video call with relevant units across the armed forces. These carefully selected units included naval, land, and air forces from several theater commands, military space units, joint logistics support centers, and the armed police. Each unit reported on their combat readiness and mission execution.

The PLA Daily stated that Xi Jinping "listened attentively to these reports, fully affirmed their work, and extended warm regards to them." However, the CCTV video failed to show any interaction or scenes of Xi personally extending his "warm regards" to the officers and soldiers reporting to him. This contrasts with similar video footage from 2023 and 2022 during the pandemic, which included such interactions.

In January 2023, before the traditional Chinese New Year, Xi inspected troop combat readiness via video from the August 1st Building in Beijing. He held video calls with units responsible for border and coastal defense, air defense, and stability maintenance missions. Both reports and video footage included interaction details, such as Xi inquiring about the situation of an Air Force aviation brigade's on-duty team and giving them specific instructions like "remain vigilant and ready for combat."

In January 2022, ahead of the traditional Chinese New Year, Xi Jinping held a video call with overseas peacekeeping units under the Central Theater Command. He expressed his regards and emphasized the importance of overseas peacekeeping operations.

Notably, compared to previous years, this year's CCTV footage allocated significantly less screen time to Xi Jinping's "self-presentation." His previous demeanor as the military's supreme leader was entirely absent.

Similarly, this year, after listening to the reports, Xi Jinping merely reiterated the usual directives: "The entire military must strengthen combat readiness, remain vigilant on duty, and respond promptly and effectively to any potential emergencies." He also extended greetings on behalf of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission to all troops, but he issued no additional instructions, expectations, or specific goals.

For context, before the 2024 Lunar New Year, Xi's ceremonial visit was to troops stationed in Tianjin. At that time, he articulated clear expectations, emphasizing the need to "thoroughly implement the new era’s military strengthening ideology, adhere to the new military strategic guidelines, and strive to win the critical battles for achieving the goal of building a strong military by the centenary of its founding."

In 2022, while addressing the Central Theater Command, his expectations were similar but included references to "taking concrete actions to welcome the 20th Party Congress."

In February 2021, during his visit to Guizhou to inspect and console an Air Force aviation division, he emphasized "ensuring normalized epidemic prevention and control, comprehensively strengthening training and preparedness, advancing all tasks solidly, and opening new horizons for troop building at a new starting point."

In January 2020, during his visit to Yunnan to console troops stationed there, Xi stressed adhering to "Xi Thought" as a guide, implementing the ideology of strengthening the military, following new military strategic guidelines, and upholding principles such as "political loyalty, reform-driven strengthening, technological innovation, talent cultivation, and governance by law."

In 2019, ahead of the New Year during his visit to the Beijing Garrison, Xi underscored the importance of "building and maintaining the military from a political and ideological standpoint, ensuring the absolute authority of the Party Central Committee, and the military’s absolute obedience to the Party's commands."

For a top military leader, setting out goals for the new year is routine. However, Xi Jinping’s notable shift in 2025 from this tradition raises significant questions. Could this be further evidence supporting earlier signs that he has lost control over military power? It appears that, under the title of Chairman of the Central Military Commission, his role has been reduced to one of mere ceremonial consolation. This implies that Xi's actions and statements within the military are strictly following a predetermined script—a charade that may continue until the CCP is forced to publicly acknowledge changes at the top level of leadership. △

(First published by People News)