Xi basks in spotlight as he hosts Putin days after Trump

Cheering children - check. Military honour guard – check. Cannon fire and marching band - check. Vladimir Putin's welcome outside the Great Hall of the People was a near mirror image of the reception for Donald Trump last week. Two high-stakes presidential visits, just days apart, is exactly the image Xi Jinping wants to project to the world: talking to everyone, tied to no-one. For China, these visits are proof that because of its massive economy and new-found diplomatic clout all roads now le…