Amid unprecedented external and internal challenges, the country’s leadership is planning a dramatic shift in policy, making improved national security, rather than economic development, the primary goal.
Last month, the world’s attention was focused on the 20th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Beyond the headline-grabbing developments – especially President Xi Jinping’s confirmation for a third term in power – the congress delivered a sobering report in which Xi argued that, amid unprecedented external and internal challenges, the party and the nation must prepare for tougher times ahead.
In his first two terms, Xi focused primarily on consolidating power and rooting out corruption. In terms of social and economic policy, his main priority was eradicating absolute poverty and building a “moderately prosperous society” (xiao kang).
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Project Syndicate
Andrew Sheng is distinguished fellow of the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong and a member of the UNEP Advisory Council on Sustainable Finance.
Xiao Geng, chairman of the Hong Kong Institution for International Finance, is a professor and director of the Institute of Policy and Practice at the Shenzhen Finance Institute at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.
