WATCH: Shock moment former Chinese President Hu Jintao gets escorted from party conference

Ryan King

October 22, 11:03 AM October 22, 11:10 AM

In a stunning moment, former Chinese President Hu Jintao was mysteriously escorted out of a key Chinese Communist Party meeting on Saturday.

Hu, 79, was sitting next to his successor, current leader Xi Jinping, during the closing ceremony of a congress for the CPP when suddenly a man walked over to him, prodded him up, and walked him away from his seat, drawing stunned looks from nearby officials.

Initially looking perplexed, Hu appeared unwilling to leave his seat, but the man who approached him was insistent. On his way out, he motioned over to Xi, who looked indifferent and nodded along while Hu was directed away.

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Hu appeared to say something to Xi and also touched the shoulder of Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 official in China, on his way off the stage of the main auditorium of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

A video of the moment caught fire on Twitter and other foreign social media platforms, but it appears to have been censored in Chinese media, CNN reported. His abrupt exit came during deliberations for the party’s elite Central Committee.

The former leader appeared frail and unsteady during the encounter.

Hu served as the president of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2013. His successor, Xi, has been considerably more powerful in his post than Hu was, holding a number of key positions in addition to the presidency.

Xi, 69, is widely expected to get appointed to a third five-year term as the head of China once the party wraps up its deliberations. His ascension has been made possible by the removal of term limits back in 2018.

He is widely regarded as one of the most powerful leaders in China since Mao Zedong. Ironically, Xi's father was ostracized under Mao's stewardship during the Cultural Revolution. Since ascending to become the leader of China, Xi embarked on a massive crackdown on corruption, which critics theorize was used as a cudgel to take out his political rivals.

As China is expected to crown Xi as its next leader, the country is contending with a deluge of domestic troubles. Economic woes stemming from its stringent COVID-19 suppression politics, a housing bubble that appears to have popped, and more have plunged the Asian giant into turmoil.