BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered a speech Monday on the opening day of a major meeting of the ruling Communist Party to approve a draft plan laying out its goals for the country over the next five years.

After cancelling his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump is now turning to China in hopes that President Xi Jinping can help persuade Moscow to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.

With a military purge in Beijing before a major political meeting this week some analysts ask: whom can leader Xi Jinping trust?

US President Donald Trump predicted an upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, would yield a “good deal” on trade — while also conceding that the highly anticipated talks may not happen.

Trump’s uncertainty over a planned Xi Jinping meeting caused Bitcoin to drop before rebounding toward the $113,000 level.

US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday.

Speculation about Xi's grip on power intensified during secret meeting that lays out the country's economic agenda for the next five years.

General He Weidong was a member of the ruling Politburo and a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. He was also a longtime personal friend of Xi’s. He’s now joined dozens of other disgraced – and disempowered – military commanders caught up in a decade-long “anti-corruption” purge of the Communist Party’s ranks.

Xi’s China is either a formidable competitor with the intent, resources, and technological prowess to surpass the United States or an economic basket case on the verge of implosion. Depending on whom one asks,

Xi Jinping seems to believe that only his continued rule can secure China’s rise. But as he ages, choosing a successor will become riskier and more difficult.