China’s Political Discourse September 2022: We are all on that bus

By China Media Project

In the month ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which closed last week in Beijing, Xi Jinping made his first overseas trip in three years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. His destinations were Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A missive published in the CCP’s official People’s Daily newspaper said that Central Asia was a strategic choice for China as the “friend circle” (朋友圈) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was intended to break through the “encircling ring” (包围圈) the United States has directed against China in recent years. For a more detailed discussion, please refer to the “Foreign Leaders” section for a more detailed discussion. 

But one of the most impactful and symbolic stories in September 2022 was the deadly overturning of a transport bus in Guizhou province carrying positive Covid cases to quarantine facilities outside the capital city in the dead of night. The crash, which killed 27 people, was understood by many Chin…