Some Western observers have made a big deal out of this regarding the televised bits of the last Xi-Putin meeting:
"The optics of the summit clearly favored Xi. Any talk of equal footing is just rhetorical," [independent scholar Philip] Cunningham told Newsweek. "On CCTV, the meeting between the two mostly focuses on Xi talking. What surprised me most was not only that Putin can be seen dutifully taking notes, but CCTV repeats this abject clip about 10 times, as if Putin were just a schoolboy."
"Xi," said Cunningham, "never takes notes."
Assuming that's true about this meeting (if not write a rebuttal), was this maybe the case in prior Xi-Putin meetings (they had like 40, IIRC)? I.e. is this alleged fact that Putin is more often seen taking notes in those bilateral meetings, even new?
(I'm thinking that maybe I should also ask if Putin has also seen taking notes in meetings with other country leaders, but I'd like to hear an answer to this narrower bit first, i.e. if this is unusual in his dealings with China.)
