If Xi really is a white hat, he's a dead man walking in China. Don't people realize that there are plenty of people who want his spot and they don't have to rely on Western "optics" before they go for what they want?

Of course, if I was using reverse psychology and wanted to get rid of Xi, that's exactly what I'd do - start pushing rumors of him being aligned with Putin, Trump, et al, and let the power-hungry Communists do the dirty work of taking him down.