Commentary With U.S. sanctions being announced against Chinese companies and officials one by one, Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping’s attempts to recover after such diplomatic disasters seemed to have failed. Xi did not appear in public for many days. On Dec. 11, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Politburo, comprised of top officials, suddenly met up and discussed “security issues,” according to state media reports. This suggested that Xi had many things to worry about. Just weeks ago, on Nov. 30, the Politburo had convened, while the Politburo Standing Committee—the Party’s top decision-making body—met on Dec. 3. Having two general meetings and one standing committee meeting within 12 days is rather unusual. Was Xi trying to save himself from a bigger political crisis within the Party? Self-Affirmation According to state-run media Xinhua’s report, during the Dec. 11 Politburo meeting, officials discussed the Party’s anti-corruption investigations. Xinhua’s report quoted Xi as saying: …