Xi Jinping “Suffers Severe Stroke” in India

Chinese President Xi Jinping suffered a severe stroke in India and, after refusing treatment in the country, may now be suffering with long-lasting effects, it has been claimed by his political opponents. The Independent has the story.

Social media is abuzz with speculation that Xi Jinping skipped the Brics gala dinner in Delhi on Sunday and made a hasty return to China because he took ill.

Xi was in India for the first time in seven years to attend the 18th Brics summit but returned before the rest of the world leaders on September 13th. He has not been seen in public since his return to China, further fuelling the rumour mill.

A video shared by India’s national broadcaster showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly pausing during his opening remarks at the summit to check on Xi, who was seated to his left.

“Is it okay?” the Indian leader asked as aides appeared to rush to Xi. He repeated the question and Xi nodded. Modi then proceeded with his speech.

Chinese journalists on Wednesday posted a longer video on X, a platform banned in the country, to claim that Modi was responding to the President’s faulty earpiece used for real-time translation.

The Chinese foreign ministry said earlier this week that Xi departed Delhi on Sunday afternoon after “successfully concluding” his attendance at the summit. The visit appeared consistent with the itinerary of attending the summit from September 12th to 13th, but lasted only about 24 hours.

Speculations about the 73 year-old leader’s failing health began on Monday after the chair of the China Democracy Party, an unregistered political organisation, alleged in a post on X that Xi fainted during the Brics summit and was flown back to China for emergency medical treatment.

Xie Wanjun, who is based in the US, alleged that Xi suffered a severe ischemic stroke, but refused treatment in Delhi. Xie claimed the Chinese President was taken to the Beijing 301 Hospital after landing back in his country.

“When boarding the plane, Xi Jinping walked with difficulty, his steps faltering, his body repeatedly leaning to the left,” Xie alleged.

Worth reading in full.

Here’s Xie’s tweet (translated by X):

It is rumoured that Xi Jinping fainted at the BRICS summit hosted by India. After emergency treatment by his accompanying medical team, he ended his visit to India early and returned to China on a special plane. Upon the plane’s arrival at Beijing airport, the Beijing authorities did not arrange for a large group of officials to greet him, nor did they organise a welcome ceremony. Instead, a military helicopter was used to transport Xi Jinping directly to Beijing’s 301 Hospital for emergency treatment.

It is said that after diagnosis by the expert team at Beijing’s 301 Hospital, it was determined that Xi Jinping had suffered a severe ischemic stroke, that is, a transient cerebral infarction. Because Xi Jinping feared that the Indian side might obtain information about his health, he refused emergency treatment at an Indian hospital and instead took a special plane back to Beijing for care. During the flight, as there were no conditions for surgery, the medical team could only administer conservative treatment to sustain Xi Jinping’s life. As a result, he missed the golden window for emergency care and surgery. Even at Beijing’s 301 Hospital, if Xi Jinping undergoes surgery for treatment, there is a high likelihood of severe sequelae.

At present, the Beijing authorities are still unable to confirm whether Xi Jinping can recover his health before the visit to the United States, so they are waiting to see if it will be necessary to cancel the late September trip to the US.