China: 100 years and counting. I couldn’t let it pass this weekend even though the big day was actually last Thursday. I’m talking of course about the 100th birthday celebrations of China’s Communist Party (CCP). In fact, a few days after all the fanfare, fireworks and speeches is perhaps a better moment to pause and take stock of what was said and its significance in terms of global diplomacy in the years ahead. On the face of it, China’s president, and Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, appeared in assertive mood. Standing beneath the giant portrait of Mao Zedong which dominates Tiananmen Square, Xi spoke from the podium where the famous chairman proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949.