Original title: Beijing tightens control ahead of Xi’s big moment on world stage
Beijing tightens control ahead of Xi’s big moment on world stage 7 hours ago Share Save Laura Bicker China correspondent Share Save Putin, Kim and Xi meet in China: BBC correspondents explain why The stage is set in the heart of Beijing for a grand display of power and military might that has been choreographed by President Xi Jinping. Eight huge Chinese flags flutter and flank the portrait of Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China, which sits on top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace overlooking Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world. Below are rows of seats reserved for 26 foreign heads of state, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whose attendance is a diplomatic win for Xi. Across the road, near the Great Hall of the People, two huge floral arrangements commemorating the end of World War II rise up alongside seating for around 50,000 invitees. On the last day of preparations - Monday - Chang’an Avenue, the multi-lane road that c