Mao made 'mistakes' says Chinese President

Xi described Mao as a “great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist” and underlined the need to have a correct historical view to appraise a historical figure.

“Revolutionary leaders are not gods, but human beings,” Xi was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

“(We) cannot worship them like gods or refuse to allow people to point out and correct their errors just because they are great; neither can we totally repudiate them and erase their historical feats just because they made mistakes,” Xi said.

Apart from Xi, Premier Li Keqiang and other top leaders visited the Mao mausoleum here to pay their respects.