The week the Boks kicked Xi Jinping’s historic US tour into touch
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29
J2015 APAN beating the Springboks. The US and China suddenly looking like, well, Chinas. A funny old week was had by all. And then the unthinkable happened, something to top off a week of firsts.
The Boks, reduced to maki roll memes on social media earlier, punted the week’s top story – President Xi Jinping’s first official state visit to the US – off of its top story perch and firmly into touch.
It came minutes after the Boks’ defeat of Samoa and was broadcast on CCTV Africa – which, like its sister channels, had been faithfully detailing every significant moment of the Chinese president’s visit as its top news story for hours and hours, bulletin after bulletin.
Chinese television has been going gaga over Xi’s visit to the US, a country which is still regarded by many older Chinese as the enemy and which needs to be kept at arm’s length.
CCTV (and other Chinese media) would have gone a long way in helping to soften that view last week, with one presenter gushing about how Seattle, the first city Xi visited on tour, will forevermore be known as Xi-eattle (X is pronounced as a shortened hissing sound in Chinese).
Referencing the Hollywood rom-com Sleepless in Seattle, Xi said that thanks to the movie, Seattle was a household name for the Chinese.
The minutiae – from what Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan wore, to the menu for the official dinner (mooncakes were served to mark the Chinese MidAutumn Festival on Sunday) – were also dissected with unadulterated glee by the station’s presenters.
Fundamental systemic differences remain and will continue to persist despite the obvious mutual and vested interests when it comes to both countries’ economies.
At a press conference, US President Barack Obama asked Xi to address a number of red-button issues, including the Dalai Lama and “democracy”.
Xi responded that China’s reforms had been steady over the years and that it would continue on this path.
Xi also met with the likes of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook. And along the way he also ordered several truckloads of Boeing aircraft.
Commentators here and in the West hailed the visit a significant milestone and most were of the opinion that it brought the two sides closer on issues of cyber security, terrorism and the environment.
At 2am on Sunday, CCTV Africa deemed the Boks’ victory over Samoa worthy enough to lead their bulletin. Maybe they thought no one was watching, not in China, anyway. If the Chinese cared for rugby, they would have rooted for the Boks against the Brave Blossoms, given their 70-odd year beef with the Japanese over WWII.
Reading out the result, the Kenyan presenter framed the victory with the loss to Japan, which (given the outcry by Bok supporters) can only be described as South African Rugby’s Pearl Harbor moment – minus the countless lives lost.
Yunus Kemp is the deputy editor of the Cape Argus. He is on a 10-month scholarship with the China Africa Press Centre.