Jason Douglas, Rebecca Feng
Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to fashion China into a manufacturing colossus that leads the world in technological innovation. His pursuit of that vision is increasingly weighing on China’s economy.
Growth is slowing and becoming more unbalanced, propped up by exports and a gusher of investment into factories, while much of the rest of the economy languishes. Consumers are reining in spending, the housing market is depressed, local governments are swimming in debt and foreign investors are pulling their cash—all at a time when China’s population is rapidly aging.
Yet expectations are low for Xi to make a significant course correction at a Communist Party conclave this week, as he continues to put measures to enhance China’s economic security above other priorities.
The event, known as the Third Plenum, happens every five years. In the past, it has delivered major economic overhauls that reverberated worldwide, such as when then-leader Deng Xiaoping used the 1978 plenum to shove China onto a path of economic liberalization, paving the way for decades of blistering growth.
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