Xi’s change of heart is too late to stop China’s collision with the west | Simon Tisdall

The Chinese president's conciliatory speech rings hollow in the face of his brutal policies

Is it too late to halt the slide towards all-out confrontation between China and the western democracies? An apparently conciliatory speech last week by Xi Jinping led some observers to suggest China's president may want to mend fences. But a change of tone in Beijing will not cut much ice in Washington unless Xi's aggressive policies change, too.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has overseen a marked shift towards authoritarianism at home and increased assertiveness" - a polite word for bullying - abroad. He has established the type of personal, almost cultish dominance over the Chinese Communist party not seen since the days of Mao Zedong.