The Economist magazine recently pointed out that China, over the past 20 years, has been “the biggest and most reliable source of growth in the world economy.” It contributed a quarter of the rise in global GDP over that period and expanded in 79 of the 80 quarters.
These impressive numbers reflect the impact of opening the Chinese economy after Mao’s death to a mix of market reforms and state control. But it appears that the Chinese economy is in some danger. There are two major causes. The first is the “zero-covid” strategy which has caused a slump in the economy and may condemn the economy to a stop-and-start pattern for the foreseeable future.
At the same time President Xi is struggling to remake state capitalism. If it stays on this path, China’s growth will slow and become less…
