CCP Leader Xi’s Security Obsession, Unpredictable Whereabouts, Attract International Attention

A paramilitary police officer stands guard in Tiananmen Square after a plenary session of the National People's Congress in the adjacent Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2018. GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping’s over-the-top security measures during his overseas visits have recently caught the attention of international media.

Last month, Mr. Xi went to South Africa to participate in the BRICS summit, but suddenly skipped an important scheduled speech at the business forum on Aug. 22. Instead, Wang Wentao, the CCP’s minister of commerce, read out his speech for him at the forum.