An opinion article from Reuters writes, "Xi Jinping is China's first U.S.-style president. Many commentators have noted Xi is the most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping and even Mao Zedong. But a better comparison might be with the style and powers of the American president...Xi is regularly portrayed in the domestic media carrying out ceremonial functions, inspecting military parades, welcoming foreign dignitaries, and demanding explanations from lower level officials in the event of disasters and political controversies such as the stampede in Shanghai at New Year, all the sorts of things that a U.S. president does," claiming, "Xi's image-makers show the same obsession with controlling perceptions of the leader as the West Wing staff of President Barack Obama, presenting him as a strong, dynamic, well-informed and singular leader who takes responsibility for all decisions carried out by the party and the government in his name." 

According to The Wall Street Journal, "A remarkable change appears to have come over China's relations with its neighbors: The regional bully has turned benefactor. In recent months, intimidation has given way to offers of tens of billions of dollars of investment... To cap it all, Vice Premier Wang Yang has asserted that China's broader foreign policy ambitions do not include trying to upend the U.S.-led global order, contradicting a belief that has been growing in U.S. foreign policy circles as China flexes its muscles in the region. America, he told a meeting in Chicago a few weeks ago, still 'leads the world.'" 

"Nearly a week after a stampede killed at least 36 people and injured 49 others during an outdoor New Year's Eve gathering in one of this city's most popular tourist spots, a solemn memorial service was held here Tuesday morning... The victims were mostly people in their 20s and 30s, a majority of them women who had come to Shanghai to work or study...Although it is unclear what caused the panic and stampede, the city authorities have been criticized for failing to manage or control the crowds at the historical riverfront Bund area. In the days after the accident, the police acknowledged that too few officers were on patrol in the area, despite warnings in previous years about the size and unruliness of the crowds that showed up for New Year's Eve countdowns and entertainment," writes The New York Times.  

The New York Times reports, "The Hong Kong government vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with an election proposal that ignited months of street protests last year, using a report originally offered as a concession to student demonstrators to warn that the authorities would not shift course from plans laid down by Beijing. The report, which was presented by the local government as a summary of the protests that erupted in late September and the state of public opinion in the city, was released as the police notified organizers and prominent supporters of the protests to prepare for arrest."