Protesters and adoring fans shared the streets of central Manchester for Xi Jinping’s visit to the city on Friday – but only one of the groups appeared to have its own master of ceremonies.
Thousands of Chinese supporters, many of them students, cheered and waved pre-distributed red flags as the president departed Manchester town hall after lunch with dignitaries. However, they weren’t loud enough for one particularly enthusiastic member of the Chinese delegation.
The aide’s frantic gesturing for the crowd to cheer louder may well have been an attempt to ensure that no shouts of “Free Tibet” from opposing activists – who were holding a banner saying “Justice for human rights” – reached Xi’s ears.
On Tuesday when the president arrived at Buckingham Palace, thousands of pro-Chinese demonstrators lined the Mall and appeared to be attempting to block his view of demonstrators from Amnesty International and other human rights groups.
David Cameron accompanied Xi on his tour of Manchester on Friday afternoon. The pair posed for a selfie with the Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero, watched a training match at the club and visited the National Graphene Institute.
Xi will fly back to Beijing on Friday night from Manchester airport.
