The political component of the Chinese Expo pavilion is already apparent in the entrance area. None other than the head of state Xi Jinping himself looks over the visitors from a TV-sized photograph on an otherwise blank wall. The picture was taken back in 2018 and shows Xi magnificently framed between Dubai’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.