The comparison stems from the general physique and perceived mannerisms that supposedly match between the two. I’m not sure the colour was an original part of the meme anyway. The origin was that image of Xi and Obama walking alongside each other, with the drawing of Pooh and Tigger to show how similar of an image it was. Xi was not coloured yellow in those earlier images, that started after the CCP cracked down on those memes.
The origins of the meme may very well be harmless. It started on Chinese social media AFAIK. Westerners going on a run with the meme is what made it problematic.
The comparison stems from the general physique and perceived mannerisms that supposedly match between the two. I’m not sure the colour was an original part of the meme anyway. The origin was that image of Xi and Obama walking alongside each other, with the drawing of Pooh and Tigger to show how similar of an image it was. Xi was not coloured yellow in those earlier images, that started after the CCP cracked down on those memes.
The origins of the meme may very well be harmless. It started on Chinese social media AFAIK. Westerners going on a run with the meme is what made it problematic.