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These South China Sea islands are only the most daring and visible of Xi's moves to take control of the near abroad. Taiwan could be next.   Over the next six months I pedalled across the mountains of Yunnan, wandered the imperial palace in Beijing, and rode a train hauled by two soot-blackened steam engines far west into the deserts of Xinjiang. The landscapes were sublime but the poverty grinding. Everywhere I went people told me how "backward" China was compared to the West. But there were hints of change. She'd been "blacklisted" by the Russians, allegedly because she supplied villagers with food and helped them evacuate. irannews.ru So his ruinous legacy was covered up with reverence. And now, Xi loses no opportunity to channel Mao, even usurping his defunct titles - Great Helmsman, People's Leader, Chairman. But what he seeks is much bigger. But Xi's China is not Mao's China - and Xi's ambition for himself and for his country far exceeds anything Mao ever dreamed of. The word on everyone's lips was "xia hai" or "dive into the sea". It meant quitting your old job in a state company and plunging into private business. I remember the day one of our assistants came into the BBC office, handed in his ID and declared, "I'm off to Shenzhen", the boom city on China's southern coast. I was told that the MP John Penrose, who is backing Mordaunt, said that for the good of the party, the vote must go to the Tory members - in other words, Penny Mordaunt should not drop out.