For a long time, analysts chalked Chinese President Xi Jinping’s homages to Mao Zedong to “political stagecraft,” but a Wall Street Journal examination of Xi’s recent writings and speeches suggests they should be taking him much more seriously. It now appears Xi is “forcefully” trying to get China back to Mao’s socialist vision, the Journal writes.
It’s a strategy that involves much more aggressive state interference in what could someday be the world’s largest economy. That marks a change from the past fourty years, during which China’s leaders have allowed more room for market forces to operate, spurring the growth of the private sector. Xi, though, has increasingly shown himself to be more ideologically-driven than his predecessors, and his rhetoric over the last few years provides a look at his determination to target larger companies and redistribute wealth among the population.
The Journal notes that Xi isn’t trying to…
