HANGZHOU, China (AP) — A month before the Asian Games, China released a new national map, doubling down on its claims to almost the entire South China Sea and disputed border territories with India.
At the games themselves, however, outward aggression has taken a backseat to unctuous charm as China sought to win the hearts of more than 40 Asian nations and regions by dazzling them with technology and slathering them with praise.
“The Asian Games embodies the Asian people’s shared desire for peace, unity and inclusiveness,” Xi told them, according to his prepared remarks.
Signs around Hangzhou billed the city as a “paradise on earth” while China adopted the motto “heart to heart” for the Asian Games, which feature some 12,000 competitors - more than the summer Olympics - from across Asia and the Middle East.
“This will undoubtedly open new prospects for cultural exchanges, cultural integration and people-to-people bonds in Asia,” the Chinese Communist Party’s official People’s Daily wrote Monday in an effusive editorial about the Hangzhou games.
Persons:
Xi Jinping, ” Xi, “ Xi, ”, Xi, Wang Wenbin, “
Organizations:
Games, South China, Asian Games, Communist, Daily, Foreign Ministry, U.S
Locations:
HANGZHOU, China, India, Taiwan, Beijing, Hangzhou, South, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Taipei, Asia, Fujian Province, Philippine, South China, Washington, ’, Pacific