A fairly innocuous infographic about Xi Jinping's first months in office created by a mouthpiece of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the first time state media has published a cartoon of the Chinese leader.
The infographic, "Where did President Xi's time go?", was published on Qianlong.com to considerable surprise from the domestic press and China watchers alike.
The infographic describes how Xi spent 39 days doing 12 inspections in 11 provinces, and a further 39 days visiting 14 countries on five continents. It also lists the president's hobbies: reading, soccer, swimming, and martial arts.
This isn't the first time a cartoon of Xi has been officially sanctioned. In October, a video titled "The makings of a Chinese leader" produced by the Communist Party propaganda department went viral online.
Observers view the infographic as a further step on from the video to demonstrate the renewed, modern political publicity concept of China's leadership. It values the building of a leader's personal image and public interaction in plain but striking ways.
Although common overseas, it is extremely rare to see a cartoon of senior Chinese leaders, as the art form is considered to mainly bear a critical or satirical function to reveal social problems.
"A good cartoon can tell a story or even beautify the subject; it has a much wider function than merely being satirical or amusing, as long as it shows the essence of the subject," cartoonist Zhang Weiping told the Global Times.
Since assuming the presidency last year, Xi has adopted a number of Western spin or public relations tactics, presenting himself as far more down to earth and approachable than his predecessors.
[Image by James Griffiths // Infographic via Qianlong.com]
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