HONG KONG -- On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to travel outside mainland China for the first time since the start of the pandemic to attend the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule.
For Xi, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who is expected to take a precedent-breaking third term later this year, the proceedings are a chance to cement personal power over the Chinese Communist Party by declaring the nation has grown stronger and more united under his rule.