They hang a lot on that one dude .
Like they did with Mao
Who is “they” in this case? I doubt whether the Chinese populace gives a bleep about Xi any more than they did Mao. It’s a communist dictatorship. So any demonstration of purported affection for Xi is merely a defense mechanism, intended to shield the peon from the wrath of the dictator. This is widely practiced in North Korea. If Xi were to vanish from the scene he would be missed like a case of bleeding hemorrhoids.