Qin's unusually long and unexplained absence, his abruptly cut-short tenure, as well as other strange happenings like, mean speculation will continue to swirl.

The deputy chief minister echoes suggestions by fellow party man Satees Muniandy that they were dropped from contesting for supporting Chow Kon Yeow to be retained as chief minister.

Bagan Dalam incumbent Satees Muniandy says he and others were dropped from DAP's candidate list for not being in the good books of the 'emperor'.

The foreign ministry describes the comments as 'an open political provocation'.

The visit is Gates' first to the country in four years.

Belt and Road is a defining geopolitical project for Xi, with Beijing keen to restart cooperation and fill the vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia's war in Ukraine.

It is the first of its kind since the establishment of formal relations 31 years ago.

Some analysts say private firms are concerned that Xi's call for 'common prosperity' could translate into a de facto tax as debt-ridden local governments struggle to boost fiscal revenue.

Globally, China faces numerous headwinds including worsening relations with the US and fraught ties with western Europe.

The long-awaited in-person meeting comes as relations between the superpowers have sunk to their lowest in decades.

The onshore yuan fell as much as 0.6% to 7.3084 per dollar, its weakest level since December 2007 and close to the lower limit of the trading band set by the central bank on Tuesday.

This would make him the nation's most influential leader since founder Mao Zedong.