WANT PEACE? DEMOCRATIZE:

Is it too late to halt the slide towards all-out confrontation between China and the western democracies? An apparently conciliatory speech last week by Xi Jinping led some observers to suggest China's president may want to mend fences. But a change of tone in Beijing will not cut much ice in Washington unless Xi's aggressive policies change, too.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has overseen a marked shift towards authoritarianism at home and increased "assertiveness" - a polite word for bullying - abroad. He has established the type of personal, almost cultish dominance over the Chinese Communist party not seen since the days of Mao Zedong.

So when Xi talks, as he did last week, about the need for arrogant CCP spokespeople and the country's antagonistic "wolf warrior" diplomats to present a more "lovable" and "humble" image of China to the world, he is really critiquing himself and his own management style.

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