Was this deliberate by the Chinese? Given how they do things, where symbolism matters, it's quite possible. In August 1991, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake was broadcast continuously on Soviet state television for three days during an attempted coup d'état against Mikhail Gorbachev.
Source: Reuters
MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin will on Wednesday dine on Peking duck and Jinhua ham at a banquet featuring Chinese opera and Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
A programme and menu reported by TASS showed guests would be offered an array of cold "zakuski" hors d'oeuvres, prawn soup, beef in bean sauce, Fuzhou noodles, pumpkin pastries, fruits.
A 2009 "Greatwall" Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2016 Changyu Chardonnay will be offered, TASS said.
The programme includes a mixture of Chinese and Russian classics played by the military orchestra of the Chinese Communist Party's People's Liberation Army including a melody of Peking opera, "An unforgettable evening" and the dance of the little swans from Swan Lake.
And why is the "Dance of the Little Swans" so significant? via NPR
The ballet and this specific dance became an unofficial symbol of political collapse in the Soviet Union. During the August Coup in 1991 (when hardliners attempted to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev), Soviet state television suspended regular programming and broadcasted looped recordings of Swan Lake, including the "Dance of the Little Swans". Soviet citizens quickly learned that whenever this ballet aired, it meant the country was in the midst of a major political crisis or regime change.
