In 2017, Xi Jinping’s “Year of the Tiger” has seen a rise in Chinese nationalism and international isolationism. The world is watching to see how China will implement economic reforms amid growing tensions between its neighbors and the United States over trade issues.,
The “tiger zodiac traits” is a Chinese Zodiac that has 12 animals. The year of the tiger is 2018, which means it will be the Year of the Tiger.
On January 30, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Li Tao/Zuma Press photo
For Chinese President Xi Jinping, this should be a fantastic week. His nation is celebrating the Lunar New Year, the Chinese calendar’s most significant event, and the Beijing Winter Olympics begin on Friday. If Mr. Xi isn’t having a good time, it might be because there are new signals that the economy is in trouble—which is mainly his responsibility.
Manufacturing and service activity seemed to be slowing during the weekend, according to both government and private statistics. The Caixin poll of manufacturing executives revealed a complete decrease. As the real estate market continues to be in upheaval, the decline in house sales shows no signs of abating. Last Monday, the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2022 from 5.7 percent to 4.8 percent.
As a result of the epidemic, several nations are still battling to get back on their feet. By continuing to the zero-Covid policy Beijing established early in the epidemic, Mr. Xi is making China’s work much more difficult, implying that China is still not “emerging” at all.
During the typically busy New Year’s season, the Omicron variant caused widespread lockdowns and hampered production and travel. Rolling lockdowns suffocate the economy, but the illness spreads widely regardless. Omicron looks to be mild, which is beneficial for the Chinese people, however this might be evaluated in a population that has had less efficient Chinese immunizations and has had less past viral exposure.
Omicron will also deprive Beijing of the worldwide image boost it had hoped for as a result of the Olympics. The stands will be mostly empty, indicating little tourist revenue, and some competitors may be unable to compete if they test positive for doping. Western Covid hawks should finally recognize that Beijing’s zero-Covid initiatives have failed.
The housing crisis is a symptom of a larger issue. By limiting financing to overleveraged developers, Mr. Xi has sought to create a controlled implosion of China’s long-inflating property bubble. That bubble arose as a result of Beijing’s reliance on cheap credit to feed property speculation at the cost of real company investment in order to boost GDP.
Mr. Xi is cementing his political influence by stifling China’s burgeoning private sector and reiterating Beijing’s preference for massive state-owned enterprises. Crackdowns on international stock listings, a data-privacy campaign targeted at private tech businesses, and strengthened antitrust regulations directed at large corporations are all part of the plan.
This will have long-term economic ramifications. Productivity growth has dropped to 0.7 percent per year over the last decade, down from 3.5 percent per year in the early 2000s. State-owned industries are 20% less productive than private corporations, according to the IMF, and Mr. Xi is pouring more resources into these less productive firms.
Political crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, forceful muzzling of opposition ahead of the Olympics, and increasing nationalism on issues like Taiwan have accompanied Mr. Xi’s economic advances. His political and economic might may be enough to secure a presidential term extension beyond the standard ten years later this year. Despite the impression of political stability at the top, Mr. Xi may face challenges in China’s Year of the Tiger.
Athletes participating in Beijing 2022 will live and compete in a “closed-loop” bubble with a “zero-tolerance” stance to Covid, which will further increase to the obstacles faced by broadcasters like NBC Sports. Images courtesy of AFP/Getty Images Mark Kelly’s composite
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The print issue of the February 2, 2022, was published.
