Last year I had the pleasure to be one of the examiners of a PhD thesis submitted to the University of Girona in Catalunya (Spain). A German architect turned tourism expert, Jan Specht, defended in the 800-year-old rooms of the university his insights into the role of contemporary architecture as an attraction for international visitors, comparing my hometown Berlin and my “second home” Beijing.

Little did I know or expect that President Xi Jinping would join the debate about contemporary architecture.

Prince Charles 30 years ago made his (in)famous remark about a planned extension for the National Gallery in London, stating:“What is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.” Earlier this year the Royal Institute for British Architecture organised a discussion to discuss the influence of the remarks of HRH, called “Triumphs, carbuncles and hopeful monsters – the British vs modern architecture”.  Prince Charles was accused that he “impoverished the level of architectural discourse in the UK”. The architect and TV presenter Charles Luxton added that “He turned the debate from one of quality to one of style – and architecture suffered. The debate became simply, ‘What does it look like?’ not, ‘Is it any good?’.”

Last week President Xi was reported to offer his views on art, including also remarks about “weird” buildings in Beijing like the CCTV headquarters, designed by Koolhaas, which has been likened by many Beijingers to a pair of giant trousers or even underpants. Such building should, according to Xi, no longer pop up in the city.