TV footage of plenum shows Chinese President in good health

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday was shown on national television while participating in the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) following reports that he had suffered a stroke.

According to CCTV, which cited a government statement, Xi delivered important remarks during his party plenum.

President Xi delivered an address at a top leadership meeting during the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which concluded on Thursday (July 18) in Beijing, state television CCTV reported.

The leader pledged to modernise the country's industry, expand domestic demand, curb debt and property sector risks, as well as implement financial and fiscal reforms, according to the CCTV report.

The meeting takes place roughly every five years and largely decides the country’s direction on longer-term economic and social issues.

Previewed by state media as “epoch-making”, the event, known as a plenum, took place at a time of financial hardship for an increasing number of Chinese at home and of heightened adversity against the country's industrial policies abroad.

Online rumours said that President Xi suffered a stroke during the 3rd plenary session. The source of this rumour was reportedly human rights journalist Jennifer Zeng. However, neither Chinese nor major international media have reported this, leading to global curiosity about the truth.

Associate Professor Aksornsri Phanishsarn, an expert on the Chinese economy from the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, posted on Facebook yesterday, writing: “This isn't the first time such rumours have circulated. The source of this rumour is Jennifer Zeng (reportedly a Falun Gong follower), the same person who spread the false coup rumours about Xi Jinping in 2022."

Those rumours indicated that Xi Jinping had been ousted in a coup after disappearing from public view for a while and were eventually proved to be false.

Zeng posted a video on YouTube, quoting Zhang Ming, a professor and head of the PhD programme at Renmin University’s School of International Studies, saying, “Something significant has happened,” without providing further details.

She also cited a report by Chinese journalist Xu Xiaohou, who has 179,000 YouTube followers, claiming that Xi Jinping suddenly suffered a stroke during the third plenary session and was immediately taken to the hospital. Zeng claimed other YouTube users reported similar news.