Xi Jinping is facing the greatest threat to his rule to date as a ‘pressure cooker’ of anger fuelled by Covid lockdowns explodes across China in mass demonstrations calling on him to resign, an expert has told MailOnline.
Matthew Henderson, once a diplomat to China and now associate fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, said there ‘is no good outcome’ for Xi as marches take place in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.
Either Xi will be forced into a humiliating U-turn on his signature zero-Covid policy or into ‘armed warfare’ with his own people, Mr Henderson said, both of which place his regime at ‘incredibly high risk’ just weeks into his historic third term.
Asked whether this is the greatest threat Xi has faced, Mr Henderson replied: ‘Yes.’
Hazmat-suited workers are seen on the streets of Beijing as China cracks down on one of its largest outbreaks of Covid to date using lockdowns and mass testing
Chinese health workers queue to get their own Covid…
