Speculation about Xi's health is emerging again after he skipped a gala dinner at the BRICS summit in India

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the second day of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. [Reuters]
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the second day of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. [Reuters]

Speculation about Chinese President Xi Jinping's health is emerging again after he skipped a gala dinner at the BRICS summit in India. Xi is scheduled to visit the United States next week for a summit with President Donald Trump.

Xi had been expected to attend the BRICS leaders' gala dinner in New Delhi on Friday but pulled out at the last minute, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday (local time). Sources told the Journal that Xi canceled the engagement because he was not feeling well.

The unexplained absence fueled growing speculation, given that it was Xi's first visit to India in seven years and that he had already accepted an invitation to the dinner from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Online rumors went further, with some claiming Xi had suffered a serious illness or a stroke.

India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed those claims as false. The Wall Street Journal also said it found no evidence to support the health rumors circulating online, pointing to footage of Xi climbing aircraft stairs without assistance as he departed for China.

However, Beijing's continued silence on the reason for Xi's absence is still stoking speculation. The fact that Xi has not appeared in public since the BRICS summit has also drawn attention.

This is not the first time questions about Xi's health have surfaced.

During his visit to Kyrgyzstan last month, a video spread online showing Xi slowly descending aircraft stairs while holding the hand of his wife, Peng Liyuan. A similar scene — Xi holding Peng's hand on aircraft stairs — was captured at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Macao's handover in December 2024, drawing various interpretations from foreign media outlets.

Last year, Xi disappeared from public view for an extended period, both abroad and at home, prompting a fresh wave of online health rumors. Those subsided after he appeared at a military parade in Beijing in September of that year.

The recurring speculation is compounded by Xi's failure to designate a clear successor since he abolished presidential term limits in 2018, linking questions about his health to broader uncertainty over China's leadership succession.

Minxin Pei, a professor at Claremont McKenna College in the United States, said "the problem with the Chinese system is that there is no established and reliable succession procedure," adding that a serious deterioration in the top leader's health could leave the system vulnerable to crisis.

Amid the health rumors, no changes have been detected so far in Xi's schedule for his planned summit with Trump, tentatively set for Thursday. Xi is expected to discuss trade, AI, cross-strait relations and the war involving Iran at the meeting.


balme@heraldcorp.com