Even if you leave the beguiling question of how one person can hold such sway in a nation of almost 1.4bn people, the weekend decision by China’s ruling Communist Party to set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely is another example of how addictive absolute power can be.

The exiled former leader of the Maldives has said this year’s presidential election could be the last chance to extricate his country from increasing Chinese influence, which he described as a land grab in the guise of investments in island development.

Donald Trump has described how he boasted about ordering a missile strike in Syria to the Chinese President while eating "the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake".

US president Donald Trump has said his meetings with China's president Xi Jinping went well but regarding progress on trade "only time will tell".

China's president Xi Jinping has arrived in Florida ahead of meetings with US counterpart Donald Trump.

Chinese president Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defence of free trade yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos in a speech that underscored Beijing’s desire to play a greater global role as the US turns inward.

Chinese president Xi Jinping hopes for a “new chapter” in relations with Iran after the lifting of international sanctions under a historic nuclear deal, as he paid the first visit by a Chinese leader to the Islamic Republic in 14 years.