The additional cup of hot tea given to China’s leader Xi Jinping in the country’s annual plenary sessions in Beijing meant much more than that, according to an analysis by Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei.

In an article titled “Xi Jinping’s two cups signal there’s plenty of hot tea left,” Nikkei’s editorial writer Katsuji Nakazawa said that the country’s hardline Communist leader could have another 10 years in office after assuming the position as Chinese president in late 2012.

In March 2018, Xi abolished the two-term limit on the presidency, effectively meaning he could be president for life. By rewriting the rules, Xi defied the tradition of presenting a potential successor.

Nakazawa used the four-character Chinese idiom “ren zou, cha liang,” which literally means “tea turns cold when people move away.” But by receiving another cup of hot tea, Xi’s tea never gets cold, and he never needs to move away.

In the Chinese political arena, symbols, status and protocol bear important meanings.

The scene contradicted those of other leaders, as the six other Politburo Standing Committee members, including Premier Li Keqiang, only had one cup of tea in front of them.

“The two teacups first appeared during the annual gathering’s opening ceremony. Then, the double teacup reemerged in all other rooms in which Xi attended separate meetings,” Nakazawa said.

“There was more than a numerical difference. Xi’s cups appear to have been specially designed for him, different from those served to the other members of the leadership … It is a phenomenon not seen in previous years.”

The emergence of this second cup of tea might also be related to security measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the article said. But the differential treatment for Xi has told the tale that the traditional Chinese collective leadership system has collapsed, he added.

Xi was given two cups of tea at a conference held in Beijing on Oct. 23 last year commemorating the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War, Apple Daily has found.

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