The Communist Party accused former military leaders Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli of factionalism and disloyalty, expelling them from the party and the armed forces following a Polit

Before setting off for Washington on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping had some correspondence to attend to. Dozens of students from 10 US universities, including Harvard, had written to Xi about their experiences on an exchange trip to China this year. According to the State Council, Xi responded with a call to the students to advance cooperation between the two countries. The gesture extended a pattern. For decades, Beijing has often turned to unofficial channels, from prominent individuals to bridging organisations between the two powers, to get its diplomatic messages across to Washington. The tradition has been pronounced in recent years, as the fierce China-US strategic rivalry makes direct governmental contact challenging.