China’s brief ban on social media posts mentioning Putin sheds light not only on Chinese Internet regulation but also on broader elements of Xi Jinping’s political system.

The recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that took place in Beijing is China’s claim to a more prominent role in determining the rules of the game on a global stage. But in the unpredictable world of Chinese politics, the forum was as much about President Xi Jinping’s standing and an attempt to curtail speculation that he is not in total control.

Chinese nationalists welcomed the historic renaming of “Aigun,” a region where a 1858 treaty redistributed land on the left bank of the Amur River to Russia. The name change will likely help the Chinese nurture memories of a “bitter history” with its neighbor to the north