Skip to main content

Chinese President Xi Jingping owns China’s only legal Facebook page

chinese president xi jingping facebook page screen shot 2015 09 25 at 3 04 58 pm
Call it executive privilege, call it hypocrisy, call it whatever you will, but just know that despite the ban on Facebook that exists in China, Chinese President Xi Jinping has a Facebook page. Created for the express purpose of documenting the leader’s historic visit to the United States, the community page is titled “Xi’s US Visit,” and has garnered well over 600,000 likes in the week since it’s been created. And it certainly seems as though the page operators are wasting no time in publishing content — apparently deprived of the joy and wonder that is Facebook posting, Xi’s page is remarkably inundated by photos, videos, and other updates in spite of its short lifetime. Unfortunately, no one back home can see it.

China, a country that boasts a population of over 1.3 billion people, about 600 million of whom have Internet access, banned Facebook access six years ago in 2009 following a series of riots in Xinjiang, and doesn’t appear to have any immediate plans to reverse this ruling. Regardless, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg seemed thrilled by his own meeting with Xi, which he documented on his own Facebook page. In a photo caption, Zuckerberg notes, “This is … part of President Xi’s state visit to the U.S., and you can follow updates from his visit on his Facebook page: Xi’s US Visit,” and adds, “On a personal note, this was the first time I’ve ever spoken with a world leader entirely in a foreign language. I consider that a meaningful personal milestone. It was an honor to meet President Xi and other leaders.”

Related Videos

Xi’s visit, which is making headlines both in the U.S. and overseas in his native China, comes at a time when tensions between the two countries are high, particularly when it comes to issues related to technology. China has long been accused of cyberattacks and espionage against the United States, and it is said that President Barack Obama and Xi are looking to establish some semblance of a cyber-peace treaty.

So enjoy Xi’s Facebook page while you can, folks. Just don’t expect to be able to share it with your friends in China.

Editors' Recommendations

Facebook’s new controls offer more customization of your Feed
A smartphone with the Facebook app icon on it all on a white marble background.

Facebook isn't likely to stop recommending posts in your Feed anytime soon, but it is offering a few options for controlling the content you see there.

On Wednesday, Facebook parent company Meta announced that the social networking platform is offering two more ways to customize your feed: by selecting "Show more" or "Show less" on individual posts, and by adjusting new settings in Feed Preferences.

Read more
This dangerous hacking tool is now on the loose, and the consequences could be huge
Close-up of hands on a laptop keyboard in a dark room.

A dangerous post-exploitation toolkit, first used for cybersecurity purposes, has now been cracked and leaked to hacking communities.

The toolkit is being shared across many different websites, and the potential repercussions could be huge now that it can fall into the hands of various threat actors.

Read more
When is the best time to post on Facebook?
A smartphone with the Facebook app icon on it all on a white marble background.

Knowing when to publish your Facebook posts to gain maximum exposure is important if you're trying to bring more attention to your brand or business. But figuring out the best timing can be a bit tricky as there's no real clear-cut answer that works for every Facebook page. And that's because the optimal timing for different Facebook pages will vary depending on the browsing/viewing habits of their respective audiences.

In the guide below, we'll answer a few of your questions about when to post on Facebook (generally), and we'll mention some ways to figure out the best publish times for your specific Facebook page.
Is it better to post in the morning or at night?

Read more