What makes all of this especially difficult for Americans to grasp is that we get little enough news about China from the myopic U.S. media that it can be hard to distinguish one Chinese leader from another (e.g., Deng from Xi).

Both cable and legacy networks are failing us so badly on China that in order to understand what's happening at all, you have to read high-quality newspapers and magazines, which readers are deserting. That makes online comments like yours all the more helpful and necessary. Thank you!