BEIJING-(MaraviPost)-Xi Jinping began an unprecedented third term as China’s president in March, vowing to navigate risks, having received unanimous support from the national legislature.
But China’s norm-breaking president is facing increased competition with the US on the world stage, and a struggling domestic economy at home China’s economic recovery.
This is the second part in a series about what China’s two seniormost leaders are doing, and the challenges they face, in trying to guide the nation through economic and financial turmoil.
When President Xi Jinping gave his speech before kicking off his norm-breaking third term in March, he vowed to lead China through a “turbulent decade” and to sail the country through “dangerous storms” ahead.
But more than five months in, having been given unanimous support by the national legislature after the presidential term limit was scrapped to extend his unprecedented tenure, the country is in deeper unchartered waters.
On the international front, China has been engaged in an all-encompassing competition with the United States in areas from trade and tech to security.
In his five months as premier, Li Qiang has been on the move both domestically and abroad, touting President Xi Jinping’s agenda while trying to empower the economy.
But Li’s policy toolbox appears restrained, and it has China watchers wondering if more concrete actions will be taken to restore confidence in the economy China’s economic recovery
- This is the first part in a series about what China’s two seniormost leaders are doing, and the challenges they face, in trying to guide the nation through economic and financial turmoil.
- From the day he was elevated to China’s premiership in March, Li Qiang has had investors and China watchers clamouring for indications of how much power he will actually wield in his bid to prop up the world’s second-largest economy while navigating uncharted waters.
The unprecedented three-year pandemic and Washington’s decoupling attempts since 2018 have severely disrupted China’s economic ecosystem, leading to record-high youth unemployment, a worsening property crisis, a reluctance among households to spend, faltering investor confidence, deflation risks and inadequate tech capabilities.
Under President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, Li has taken centre stage in handling the ongoing economic crisis since June.
