New footage sheds more light on moment Hu Jintao was led out of Chinese Communist Party Congress

Hu Jintao was sitting next to his successor Xi Jinping for closing ceremony of twice-a-decade party gathering

New visuals have emerged from the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s National Congress, showing the moments leading up to the dramatic exit of former president Hu Jintao in circumstances that remain unclear.

The incident on Saturday saw Mr Hu, who led China for 10 years before Mr Xi assumed the presidency, being physically escorted out of the closing ceremony of the twice-a-decade gathering shortly after TV cameras had been set up to televise the event.

It raised questions over the weekend of whether Xi Jinping had deliberately had his predecessor ejected in a symbolic display of power.

But while the Communist Party has still not provided a public explanation of what happened, the new footage supports an alternative theory that the 79-year-old Mr Hu had become confused and needed medical assistance.

The new video was recorded by Singapore-based Channel News Asia, and starts a short while before Mr Hu is eventually escorted from the chamber.

It shows outgoing Politburo Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu, sitting to the former president’s left, intervening as Mr Hu repeatedly tries to read a set of documents that are covered by a red sheet.

Mr Li seems to explain that, with TV cameras and photographers now recording proceedings, the documents need to remain covered. Mr Hu is seen physically trying to hold on to the file but eventually Mr Li takes the documents away from the retired statesman.

While this is unfolding, Mr Xi can be seen motioning to another man who comes and speaks to him while Mr Hu continues to reach for the folder. The man addressed by Mr Xi then tries to persuade the former president to leave, at one point attempting to physically lift him up from his chair.

Mr Hu finally stands up with some help from the party aide, and is also seen trying to speak with the Chinese president on his way out.

Events involving the highest echelons of the Chinese government are normally closely choreographed, making the discordant episode highly unusual. The fact that the government has not commented on it since, and that any coverage of the moment has been censored within China, has only added to speculation abroad.

The state-run Xinhua news agency later said on Twitter that Mr Hu had been removed from the chamber as he was feeling unwell. This line was not reported within China, however, and the US-based social media platform is banned there.

The incident drew much attention from a National Congress that was otherwise dedicated to cementing Mr Xi’s position as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Sunday heralded the start of an unprecedented third Xi term, and he unveiled a Politburo lineup stacked with loyalists.