A confident China seeks to insulate itself from the world

THE ANNUAL session of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, leaves nothing to chance. Speeches are thoroughly rehearsed, those attending are carefully vetted and even the tea service is immaculately choreographed. Yet there are always a few unscripted remarks—or, perhaps, remarks scripted to sound unscripted—that stick out. During the weeklong event, which ended on March 11th, the most memorable words came from Xi Jinping, the country’s leader. “China can now look the world in the eye,” he said in a small meeting on the sidelines. “It’s not like back in the day, when we were still bumpkins.” It was an unvarnished expression of Mr Xi’s belief that China has become a great power and now must act like one.