BEIJING (AFP) -- Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Thursday after a high-profile foreign tour that analysts say put a more human face on China‘s leader-in-waiting, but gave away little about his politics.
Xi, who is all but certain to be China’s next president, attended a basketball game, cracked jokes and showed off his skills on the Gaelic football field during his visit to the United States, Ireland and Turkey.
The 10-day trip -- Vice President Xi‘s most high-profile role yet on the diplomatic stage -- was seen as an attempt to show a gentler side of China’s leaders before a generational handover of power that starts later this year.
China‘s Internet population has exploded since current President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao came to power nine years ago, and the next succession will take place under unprecedented scrutiny.
So far, Xi’s reviews have been largely positive, both at home and abroad.
His host in the United States, Vice President Joe Biden, said the visit would “build a stronger relationship that benefits both our nations and our people.”
In China, people took to weibos -- microblogs similar to Twitter -- to praise Xi‘s man-of-the-people approach, which was in stark contrast to the often stiff bearing of President Hu.
“Isn’t it good,” posted one under the name Linyunkezhan. “Leaders are humans, they shouldn‘t think that they are gods, or behave like them in public.”
Another blogger, using the name Yiqishuoshuohua, described Xi as “easy, relaxed, and close to the people” -- an approach some attributed to his years spent toiling in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.
But there was also skepticism about the carefully stage-managed visit, with many bloggers questioning whether Xi’s down-to-earth manner was a genuine new approach or mere “hype” ahead of a leadership handover that starts this year.
“On a personal level, the trip was a success. It showed him to be quite spontaneous, he talked about his personal life and his love of movies,” said Zheng Yongnian, politics professor at the National University of Singapore.
“He is quite popular with the people -- Chinese society is more open now, people don‘t always want to see leaders with a serious face.
”But when Hu and Wen came to power they also were popular. Popularity is not fixed,“ he added, referring to the outgoing president and prime minister, who have failed to enact the reforms that many hoped for when they came to power.
Zheng said Xi’s family background -- his father was Xi Zhongxun, a communist revolutionary who fought alongside Mao Zedong -- and close military ties had given him a confidence in public that Hu has sometimes appeared to lack.
”He struck a good balance (in the United States). He defended China‘s position, but also came across as quite honest, for example on human rights, saying that China could do better,“ Zheng added.
Xi has received prominent coverage in China’s state-run media, with large chunks of the main evening news bulletin given over to showing the vice-president‘s trip.
But political analyst Russell Leigh Moses said the coverage had followed the strict hierarchy of Chinese politics, with Xi playing second fiddle to the current leadership.
”The public at large is looking to be educated (about China’s new leader), but it‘s not much more than that,“ he said.
”A lot of the presentation is to satisfy public curiosity, but how it plays in the party media is more important. There, the coverage has been positive but restrained.“
Xi, 58, has been the clear front-runner to take over from Hu since his promotion to vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission in 2010.
If, as expected, he is named general secretary of China‘s ruling Communist Party when Hu steps down from that role later this year, he will take over as president -- a role that is traditionally held for a decade -- in 2013.
He is likely to face considerable challenges as China’s rapid economic growth slows, raising the specter of rising social unrest.
Like many senior Chinese officials, Xi has until recently had a relatively low profile, known more for his marriage to the well-known singer Peng Liyuan than for his political achievements.
Peng, who did not accompany Xi on his visit, has made few public appearances in recent months, possibly to avoid overshadowing her husband as he steps into the spotlight.
As an exercise in raising Xi‘s profile both at home and abroad, Zhu Feng, international relations professor at Peking University, judged his foreign tour to have been a success.
