for context, this is entirely incorrect.
xi is not "brilliant"(he was very lucky to become PM when he did), and he is losing control.
not just xinjiang, but many provinces of China have been separating themselves from Beijing and trying to declare independence for years.
xi obviously have no control over Taiwan, although they're trying to brute force the government.
Shanghai is very international and doesn't want to be associated with Beijing.
Hong Kong obviously doesn't consider itself as governed by Beijing.
and despite the constant violent dictator tactics, China has persistent protests in every province by brave Chinese citizens standing up and calling out the human rights abuses, the broken economic promises, the countless domestic and foreign political failures of China, the insane quarantine measures taken fruitlessly being a good recent example, the complete collapse of their housing market after the government encouraged everyone to invest all of their life savings in real estate being another.
xi's "iron fist" is gripping sand, and it is falling through his fingers.