Summary/Abstract |
China’s historic 20th Party Congress in 2022 was principally noteworthy because Xi Jinping successfully secured a third term, but Beijing also tellingly postponed releasing GDP and other key economic statistics during the Congress. This deliberate obfuscation could not conceal that the Chinese economy has been in trouble for quite a while now. Media stories in recent years have increasingly reported on Chinese home buyers refusing to pay mortgages,Footnote1 depositors lining up to retrieve savings,Footnote2 central authorities cracking down on large private firms,Footnote3 and local governments becoming constrained by debt and shrinking revenue.Footnote4 The list goes on.
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