China’s 2026 New Year Reception: Curated Attendance, Defensive Optics, and a More Inward Policy Tone
The source depicts China’s 2026 Spring Festival reception as unusually tense, with heightened security optics and the exclusion of all top-rank retired leaders from collective attendance. It also argues Xi Jinping’s speech retreated from outward-facing ambition toward domestic stability and planning themes, suggesting intensified elite risk management.