BEIJING — In the competition for manliest world leader, Vladmir Putin has been leaving all others in the dust for years — iron pumping, horse riding, tiger hunting and his affinity for being photographed sans shirt with buff pectorals prominently glistening.
During the opening dinner for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, host Chinese President Xi Jinping was chatting idly with President Barack Obama on his right. To his left, Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, exchanged a few words with Putin. Something to do, perhaps, with how cold it was.
With zero hesitation, Putin stood up, grasped his tan coat with both hands and draped it over the Chinese first lady’s shoulders.
Peng, faced with the awkward prospect of sitting through dinner beside her husband with another man’s coat around her shoulders, within seconds discreetly handed Putin’s coat to an attendant and slipped on another jacket.
The moment quickly went viral on Chinese social media — along with off-color jokes. China’s censors leaped into action. The video was pulled quickly, along the more saucy comments.
