‘China’s Xi Jinping better politician than Hu Jintao’: Hillary Clinton’s speeches revealed by WikiLeaks
Hacked emails show US presidential candidate praised Chinese leader for his ability to consolidate power quickly
US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2013 hailed President Xi Jinping as “a better politician” than his predecessor, Hu Jintao, praising Xi’s ability to consolidate his authority over the military, according to hacked emails released by WikiLeaks.
The emails contained excerpts of private speeches Clinton gave between June and November that year and her comments are in sharp contrast to her other public remarks.
Last year, the former US secretary of state described Xi’s pledge on women’s rights as “shameless” amid China’s detention of five prominent women’s rights activists.
Three months after Xi became president, Clinton told an audience at a conference by US investment bank Goldman Sachs that the new Chinese leadership was “good news”.
“He’s a more sophisticated, more effective public leader than Hu Jintao was,” Clinton said of Xi, according to the leaked email of her presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta.
“He’s someone who you at least have the impression is a more worldly, somewhat more experienced politician. And I say that as a term of praise, because he understands the different levers and the constituencies that he has to work with internally and externally,” she said.