Xi Jinping's health under scrutiny after private rest room, canceled lunch requests during White House visit

Questions about Chinese President Xi Jinping's health have resurfaced after it emerged that the 73-year-old requested a private rest room inside the White House and had a working lunch with US President Donald Trump canceled during last month's bilateral summit.

Analysts say the uncertainty could have far-reaching consequences for Chinese politics, given that power is heavily concentrated in Xi's hands with no designated successor in place.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday (local time) that Xi made rest-related requests during his US visit that were unusual compared with those of previous foreign leaders.

According to the report, the Chinese side asked the White House to set aside an exclusive rest room for Xi inside the West Wing. Only his wife, Peng Liyuan, was permitted to accompany him there. No White House staff — nor any member of the Chinese delegation, including Xi's chief of staff — was allowed inside while he rested.

The Chinese side also told US officials it wanted to secure as much rest time as possible for Xi, resulting in a roughly five-hour gap in his already brief schedule, according to the report.

About a month before the visit, the Chinese advance team asked the White House to cancel a working lunch with Trump that had been scheduled for Sept. 24.

On Sept. 25, the final day of his visit, Xi spent only about 10 minutes at the US National Archives — far less than US officials had originally planned, according to the report.

Publicly available footage showed Xi moving with noticeable caution, the Journal reported. When disembarking from his official aircraft, he held Peng's hand with one hand while gripping the railing with the other. Two days later, he again held her hand while climbing the steps of the National Archives. Chinese state media reportedly omitted those scenes from prime-time broadcasts.

Dennis Wilder, a former senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council who oversaw three state visits during the George W. Bush administration, said a foreign leader requesting a private rest room was without precedent.

"When we hosted former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao, nothing like this ever happened," he said. "It is highly unusual."

However, no specific signs of cognitive decline or other concrete health problems have been confirmed in Xi. Experts caution that a request for a private rest room or schedule adjustments alone are not sufficient grounds to conclude that his health is failing.

Still, analysts say that with power concentrated in Xi and no successor named, any health issues could become a significant variable in China's future leadership succession and political stability.