Tokyo | Towards the end of his first term as leader, Xi Jinping put himself at the centre of an elaborate display of military power which left little doubt about his thoughts on China’s place in the world.

Dressed in camouflage fatigues, Xi stood on top of an open-backed Jeep during an hour-long parade at a sand-swept military base in the Inner Mongolian desert. Thousands of troops holding rifles yelled: “Follow the party! Fight to win!” as their leader rode past, inspecting hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other pieces of military hardware.