Politics hamper China’s efforts to stimulate the economy
The prime minister is weak and the president frugal
A decade ago the 200-plus members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee gathered in Beijing for the “third plenum”, a five-yearly meeting traditionally devoted to the economy. The plenum promised to give markets, not the state, the “decisive role in allocating resources”. The failure of Xi Jinping, China’s leader since 2012, to embrace that commitment explains much of the disappointment about China’s economy in the past ten years.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “No time for stinginess”
From the September 30th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Wegovy hits the People’s Republic, at last
China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America
China’s government is badgering women to have babies
It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook
China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents
Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability
Trump, trade and feeding China’s pigs
As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America
Helping America’s hawks get inside the head of Xi Jinping
China’s leader is a risk-taker. How far will he go in confronting America?
Snuffing out the flame of freedom in Hong Kong
Dozens of pro-democracy activists are thrown into jail for up to a decade