The PLA “Blood Feud” Behind Xi’s 133 Days in Beijing

A few days ago, people outside China began whispering on social media that Xi Jinping has been unusually quiet lately. So according to CCP's own tradition, after the annual two sessions, the top leader begins inspection tours, which means under normal circumstances, Xi Jinping should have already left Beijing around March 18th or the 19th, but he didn't. Now, that may not sound dramatic to you guys, but in the context of CCP political routines, it is highly unusual. Let me show you the pattern from previous years. In 2025, the two sessions ended on March 11th. Within one week, Xi Jinping left Beijing. From 17th to 18th, he went to Guizhou. From 19th to 20th, he went to Yunnan. And then the year before that, 2024, the meetings also ended on the 11th of March. And Xi left Beijing from March 18th to the 21st for a four-day inspection tour in Hunan. And then in 2023, the pattern was the same. The two sessions concluded on March 13th. Just one week later, from March 20th to 22nd, Xi Jinping conducted a state visit to Russia. So you see, for three consecutive years, the pattern is consistent. Within about a week after the two sessions, Xi Jinping is on the move, either traveling domestically or going abroad. But this year, the pattern is broken. And this isn't just about those 10 days. According to public reports, Xi Jinping last left Beijing on November 7th to the 8th of 2025, when he visited Guangzhou. And then from November 9th to March 21st, I mean, November 9th of last year to March 21st of this year, that's the day before the article, that's 133 days, more than four months. During this entire period, he did not leave Beijing at all, not once. And there was more. During the Chinese New Year period, a time when CCP leaders traditionally visit frontline military units, Xi Jinping broke with precedent. On February 10th, he addressed the military by video only. I have pictures. He stayed behind the screen. China's top leader clearly does not feel comfortable leaving his familiar and tightly controlled environment, especially after what happened in late January, when he arrested his two top military leaders, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, when they were suddenly taken down. And since then, there has been no clear sign that Xi Jinping has fully regained control of the military. Think about it. Two months have passed. The highly anticipated two sessions have come and gone, yet no major military theater command, no service branch has publicly voiced support for the removal of these two generals. There has been no formal endorsement, no retroactive political backing from the National People's Congress or the CPPCC. And in a totalitarian regime, that is unthinkable. And remember, a month ago, there were videos circulating in late January, they started in late January and early February, showing military movements, mobilization, unusual troop activities, all while rumors of mutiny were spreading. Some sources now claim that certain PLA units are close to, or already under, the influence of anti-Xi factions. And the most frequently mentioned unit is the 82nd Group Army stationed in Hebei, just outside Beijing. Now, whether these details are accurate or not, it doesn't matter. The broader point is clear. If key military units are not fully under control, then leaving Beijing becomes a risk. Because when Xi Jinping is in Beijing, he's protected by his inner security apparatus. But once he's on the road, risk increases. And inside the military, there are people waiting, waiting for Xi Jinping to leave Beijing, because that could be the moment of opportunity. So under these conditions, his behavior starts to make sense. He doesn't leave. All right, now, if the story ended here, then this would simply be about Xi Jinping's fear, a leader staying put because he doesn't trust his own system. But the story doesn't end here, because the whispers about Xi Jinping's fear of leaving Beijing did not go unnoticed. And he responded this time. Then on March 23rd, Xi Jinping finally left Beijing, but not very far. Given his security concerns, he chose the Where did he go? Xiong'an. It's called Xiong'an New Area. Well, Xiong'an, you all know what Xiong'an is, right? After nine years of development and estimated investment approaching $1 trillion, that's 8 trillion RMB. Xiong'an is often described as the new capital of China, but it's also known as the largest ghost city in the world. It was meant to be a future capital, a new political center, a showcase of China's next stage. But today, it remains largely underpopulated. You may ask, well, why did Xi Jinping choose to go to Xiong'an? Well, first, it's close. It's only about 100 kilometers or 60 miles away from Beijing. And from a security standpoint, this is not really leaving Beijing in the traditional sense. Second, it's one of the most controlled environments in China because it's essentially empty with a very limited population. So this is not a place with large, unpredictable or uncontrollable crowds. It's a filtered space. So compared to visiting other urban areas, the risk is dramatically lower. And most importantly, this is Xi Jinping's own project. It's not just another development zone. It's his political legacy project. And so going to Xiong'an serves a different purpose. It's a stage. After months of staying out of sight, if you're going to reappear, you do it somewhere that reinforces authority, not uncertainty. So having said all of that, I think the main reason he chose Xiong'an is nothing but security. He wouldn't feel safe going anywhere else. How do I know? Well, how he arrived in Xiong'an gave us the clue. He didn't travel to Xiong'an in his motorcade. Instead, he traveled by high-speed rail. So you may say, wait a minute, public transportation for Xi Jinping? Isn't that not safe at all? Well, if you think about it, high-speed rail is actually safer for him. A motorcade is actually a very exposed system. Even with heavy security, you still have intersections, overpasses, you have roadside buildings with windows, and layers of local personnel involved. And every one of those is a potential variable, a potential risk. High-speed rail is the exact opposite. It's a closed corridor. The tracks are fixed, closed. The route can be cleared in advance. Stations along the way can be completely closed or sealed off. Once the train departs, there are no unexpected stops, no civilian traffic, no outside interference. So from a security point of view, it's one of the most controlled environments you can create. And there's time. By train, the journey takes about 30 minutes. By car, it could take twice as long, sometimes more. So it means less time exposed, fewer moving parts, fewer people involved. Everything becomes tighter, more predictable, more controllable. However, I think by going to Xiong'an, he made a big mistake. And there is a huge security risk. By going there, he has further infuriated the unit within the PLA, most likely to oppose him. Which unit is that? After the removal of the two generals, like I said, one of the most talked about PLA units, and the one most likely to turn against Xi Jinping, is the 82nd Group Army. Xi's visit would anger this unit. To understand why, we have to go back to the flooding of 2023. If you remember, typhoon, there was a typhoon called, what is it called? Du Su Rui in Chinese. In English, what is it called? Duxury? It was a massive typhoon, and it struck Beijing, Hebei, and surrounding areas in late July, causing severe flooding. And then now about 100 kilometers from Beijing lies Baiyangdian Lake, which sits roughly 35 meters lower than Beijing. Geographically, water naturally flows from Beijing through the Hebei plains, and then into the Baiyangdian Lake. So Baiyangdian is the largest freshwater lake in North China. It's a natural flood storage basin. However, this completely changed after Xi Jinping decided to build Xiong'an right next to the lake. So the lake could no longer function as a natural flood basin for Beijing, because of the new capital located right next to it, because the Xiong'an city could not be flooded. So during the heavy rains brought by the typhoon in July 2023, officials decided to protect Xiong'an. Floodwaters were rerouted toward another city on the way to Xiong'an, that's Zhuozhou in Hebei. So you see Beijing, Zhuozhou, and Xiong'an. Xiong'an is exactly where the lake is. And Zhuozhou, as you see, is in between Beijing and Xiong'an. So the decision was reportedly made by two of Xi Jinping's most loyal officials, Cai Qi and Li Qiang, the premier. These two decided to divert the water to Zhuozhou, so that Xiong'an was not going to be flooded. What happened next? Water rose rapidly. At its peak, it reached 12 meters. The city was submerged. But Zhuozhou is not an ordinary place. It hosts major SOE warehouses, and it also hosts elite military units, and also hosts warehouses of military units. At least three sources claim in August 2023, a few weeks after the flood, they claim that the disaster caused heavy losses to military units stationed in Zhuozhou and also in nearby city Baoding. These units are flooded. So let me give you a rundown of what military units got flooded. First of all, the armored unit of the 82nd Group Army, located right in Zhuozhou, was severely flooded. All tanks in the unit were destroyed. Other losses include strategic armored ammunition depots, armed police explosive depots, naval warehouses, including uniform storage. And then you have the Air Force Sixth Flight Academy was flooded. Their flight simulators were destroyed. Then you have a newly established PLA drone unit was flooded. And then there was a nearby aviation unit on low-lying ground. It became a swimming pool. All aircraft submerged. Critically, these military units in Zhuozhou and nearby areas were not notified in advance. Because the water was released at night with no warning, many soldiers were caught off guard. It is said that as many as 10,000 troops were trapped or were flooded, and 3,000 drowned on the spot. And the 82nd Group Army suffered the biggest casualty. Remember, the deepest water was 12 meters, and many nearby areas saw water three to four meters deep. And remember, it happened at night. And later reports came out to say that when Cai Qi and Li Qiang decided to flood Zhuozhou to save Xiong'an, they didn't alert Xi Jinping. They did it to please their boss, thinking that saving Xiong'an would be the right thing to do. But after learning of the situation, Xi Jinping was reportedly furious, and Li Qiang, the premier, reportedly offered to resign. The losses were so massive that no senior leaders in Beijing visited the affected area. No one openly discussed the disaster. Now, that 2023 flood was less than three years ago and still fresh on people's mind. It is believed to be the reason the 82nd Group Army now harbors deep resentment towards Xi Jinping. And there are people, just a few days ago, people said that Cai Qi and Li Qiang are described, I mean, people's resentment towards Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, and Cai Qi is described as a blood feud. And they believe the flood was caused by Cai Qi and Li Qiang's decision to protect Xi Jinping's ghost city. So when Xi Jinping visited Xiong'an yesterday, it might have just reminded those servicemen of what they experienced in 2023. So you see, in the end, this wasn't just a routine visit. After 133 days of staying in Beijing, Xi Jinping finally stepped out, but only into the most controlled space he could find. Xiong'an may look safe on the surface, but beneath it lie unresolved tensions, unfinished projects, and bad memories some people haven't forgotten.