Xi Jinping stroke rumor: Truth behind viral BRICS claim

Chinese President Xi Jinping’ health-related rumours have been making rounds on the internet claiming that the leader suffered a stroke during the BRICS summit in India and was later taken to Beijing’s 301 Hospital.

The unverified claims stemmed from Wanjun Xie’s posts circulated on X. In these posts, he claimed that President Xi fainted during the summit.

“After emergency treatment by his accompanying medical team, he ended his visit to India early and returned to China on a special plane. Upon the plane's arrival at Beijing airport, the Beijing authorities did not arrange for a large group of officials to greet him, nor did they organize a welcome ceremony. Instead, a military helicopter was used to transport Xi Jinping directly to Beijing's 301 Hospital for emergency treatment,” the post reads.

However, neither Chinese nor Indian officials verified any reports regarding Xi having suffered from stroke or fainted.

These viral claims also added that due to medical conditions he cut his trip short to return to Beijing. Upon landing at the Beijing airport, he was allegedly transported directly to the PLA General hospital also called the 301 Hospital via a military helicopter.

An expert medical team purportedly diagnosed him with an ischaemic stroke. The post claims his condition worsened because he chose to fly back to Beijing rather than seek immediate medical care in India.

“Xi Jinping is currently receiving emergency treatment at Beijing's 301 Hospital and has not yet escaped life-threatening danger,” Xie post reads.

Although these claims took the internet by storm, they did not appear true as Xi Jinping completed his trip as per his timeline. The president attended the summit from September 12-13. Xi met the Indian PM on September 12 as both governments held bilateral talks.

Xi successfully wrapped up his summit and left New Delhi at noon on September 13, with senior Indian officials bidding him farewell at the airport, according to the Foreign Ministry.

There has been no official announcement from Beijing confirming a stroke diagnosis or saying Xi was admitted to 301 Hospital following his return from the BRICS summit.

Until the verification of these claims from Chinese authorities, these reports must be treated unverified.