1) Rumours. Just rumours.
2) As one (high-voted) comment suggests[1], if it's not just rumours, it could be just a marketing gambit, ordered by Xi himself or undertaken by media officials engaging in Sontaku[2]: Things are going a bit shit at the moment,so let's tone down the Xi branding for a while so The Leader won't get too associated with things going a bit shit.
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[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAJ5enTb0vo&lc=Ugxi0Li8eaSvCvRiRDN4AaABAg
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sontaku
2) As one (high-voted) comment suggests[1], if it's not just rumours, it could be just a marketing gambit, ordered by Xi himself or undertaken by media officials engaging in Sontaku[2]: Things are going a bit shit at the moment,so let's tone down the Xi branding for a while so The Leader won't get too associated with things going a bit shit.
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[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAJ5enTb0vo&lc=Ugxi0Li8eaSvCvRiRDN4AaABAg
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sontaku