Thread by @thesundaytimes

Xi, who rose almost without trace through the bureaucracy of the Communist Party of China, has emerged emperor-like on to the world stage, the most authoritarian Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.

But is he as powerful as he seems?
thetimes.co.uk/article/xi-jin…

China’s heads of state usually serve two five-year terms, but Xi altered the constitution in 2018 to remove the limit, paving the way for him to become a “forever president” and dictator for life.

Yet Xi’s steely grip on power is more brittle than the official narrative would ever allow. The challenges facing him and China are immense.

China's demographics are terrible. The result of a cruel one-child policy left it with an ageing population and a lack of women due to sex-selective abortion by families who wanted a son. China may be the first great power that grows old before it has the chance to grow rich.

His regime claims to have crushed the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in central China, by a zero-Covid policy that has put the country behind a great wall for almost two years; but even if this works out, the unforeseen economic distortions are apparent.

Drivers are queueing for high-priced fuel, while the costs of coal and other energy sources are crippling industry – consumers are aghast at how much they have to pay for food. The state is trying to crush inflation by decree every day ordinances stream forth from Beijing.

China’s economic growth model has been the envy of the world, but it is partly built on a pile of credit and speculative property that is cracking at the seams.

The giant Chinese property developer Evergrande is in trouble, the firm’s bondholders are nervous.

For Xi and his core group, it is all about survival. They know what befalls those who lose out in Chinese power struggles because they inflicted such punishment themselves when Xi first took power.

His main rival, the ambitious politician Bo Xilai, now languishes in a top-security jail serving a life sentence for corruption and abuse of power.

The secret police chief Zhou Yongkang, a Bo ally, is also in a cell.

Thousands of cadres, from generals to city bosses, have fallen to Xi’s “anti-corruption” purge amid suicides and ruin. For Xi, enemies are everywhere.

There is only one course – rule for life, with no exit strategy.

Read the full story here:
thetimes.co.uk/article/xi-jin…