Xi’s power grab will be felt far beyond China

This week, Xi Jinping – the son of a man expelled from high office He was then sent to the provinces to help manage a tractor factory, and for a third five-year term established himself as leader of the Communist Party of China and, through it, of the People’s Republic.

To achieve this personal pinnacle of power, President Xi had to back off term limits set decades ago in the aftermath of Mao’s absolute rule and influence. devastating consequences for the Chinese. The main reason he was able to do so was that in a time of global crisis and economic uncertainty, he promised “common prosperity” and made himself a symbol of political continuity and stability. It’s from

As North Asia correspondent Eric Bagshaw pointed out, his profileBy placing “Xi Jinping Thought” on the party’s line, criticizing the leader has become the same as criticizing the state. But this cuts both ways. A source of unparalleled power and policy, President Xi has come to be equated with handling all the challenges facing the party state.

They’re huge, but sometimes strangely familiar.Long after Victoria and New Zealand bid farewell to their zero-COVID strategy, China has announced tighter lockdowns and Suffocation of economic activityThe Chinese government, which claims self-sufficiency with ineffective domestic vaccines, is overwhelmed by Omicron variants and their subspecies.

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The country sits on a property market time bomb, construction stalls and developers drown in debt. The first indication of the extent of this problem is Default of major developer Evergrande When the government is pressed to build affordable housing, President Xi repeatedly declares that “houses are built to live in, not for speculation.” but, little to suggest Since then, China’s leaders have been convinced they can find a way out of this mess other than shifting their mountain of debt to state-owned enterprises.

More than a decade after the global financial crisis, China is rushing to calculate reckless bank lending to people with stagnant incomes and spending. Beijing’s series of repressive powersFrom Hong Kong to Xinjiang and from July’s massive demonstrations by bank depositors in Henan province, President Xi Jinping Last week’s lone anti-lockdown protester In Beijing, it is automatically viewed as a threat to national security rather than a complaint to be addressed.

China’s economic crisis not only severely impacts the world outlook, but also poses the danger that President Xi Jinping will seek to overcome internal difficulties by attacking external enemies. As Shanghai-based activist Ji Xiaolong noted after anti-lockdown protests in April, Chinese officials’ response to dissent was that “behind every problem, every protest, is a foreign country.” There is also a conspiracy by power.”

In February, President Xi welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin — another leader who has managed to sidestep all tenure restrictions — to Beijing, under the shadow of the Olympic torch. Partnerships “no limits”.