Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, who had been missing for two weeks since May 21, met with Belarusian President Lukashenko on June 4. Belarusian officials stated on the 9th that Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan and daughter Xi Mingze attended a “family dinner” held for Lukashenko, but this news was not reported by Chinese state media, leaving many questions unanswered.
Belarus previously described this visit to China as “special” and referred to it as “a family-friendly gathering.”
According to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency report on June 9, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov, who accompanied Lukashenko during his visit to Beijing from June 2 to 4, provided details of Lukashenko’s recent meeting with Xi Jinping on the Belarusian TV channel program “First Time.”
The report mentioned that Snopkov quoted Xi as saying during the private part of the meeting: “My friend, our relationship is special, so today we will have a family dinner. Historically, it will be the first time my daughter has dined with a foreign leader in this way.”
Snopkov further questioned, “In what kind of relationship and atmosphere do you think this visit, meeting, and dinner took place? At the time, his daughter was present, Mrs. Peng Liyuan (Xi Jinping’s wife—Belta note) was present, and Comrade Xi Jinping himself was also present.”
Xi Jinping’s daughter, Xi Mingze, has remained quite mysterious to the public and has not made any public appearances since reaching adulthood.
White Telegraph Agency did not mention the context of Snopkov’s question, which led to his inquiry.
However, in contrast to previous reports by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, the report on June 4 stated that Lukashenko and Xi Jinping held a meeting at Zhongnanhai. “First, the two sides will hold a working meeting in the form of a teatime talk, following which the heads of the two countries will have a one-on-one meeting. A friendly lunch will follow.”
On June 4, Snopkov, in an interview with reporters, emphasized the “special format” of Lukashenko’s visit to China. He said, “This is a family-friendly lunch,” “It is not a working visit, not an official state visit, but a special visit for a family-friendly lunch.”
As reported by Global Times on June 4 at 17:29, quoting Belta’s news on the 4th, Belarusian President Lukashenko concluded his three-day visit to China. The accompanying video showed Lukashenko at the airport before leaving Beijing in daylight.
Neither Chinese nor Belarusian media disclosed when the dinner attended by Xi Jinping’s daughter took place.
On June 6, Wang Youqun, a former official of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, wrote in Epoch Times that Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Putin. There have been rumors internationally about Xi losing power, and both Putin and Lukashenko may have been curious about Xi’s actual authority. Lukashenko’s visit may have been at Putin’s request, specifically to investigate Xi’s power in Beijing.
Gordon Chang, a well-known China expert, recently told Fox News that something might have happened within the Chinese government, questioning whether Xi Jinping has lost significant power.
Japanese media personality Katsunii Nakazawa published an article on June 5 in Nikkei Asia titled “Analysis: Doubts about Xi Jinping’s Regime’s Strength,” listing several events indicating a crisis in Xi Jinping’s power. These events include the official media not announcing whether a Political Bureau meeting was held in May, and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Feng was conspicuously absent from the Shangri-La Dialogue, among others.
Epoch Times recently learned from authoritative sources that while Xi Jinping may still appear to be in power, the tide has turned, with senior CCP figures like Wen Jiabao and Zhang Youxia becoming critical factors influencing the Chinese political landscape.