Party Congress

Wall Street Desire for Xi to Pivot to Growth Faces Reality Check

  • Few signs party congress will prompt rethink by China’s leader
  • Upcoming gathering expected to reaffirm signature Xi policies
Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 30.Photographer: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
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As President Xi Jinping marches toward his second decade in power, predictions abound that he’ll ease policies that have sealed China’s borders, battered stocks and blown up the dollar-bond market. There’s little sign any such shift is in the works.

The optimism hinges on expectations Xi will usher in a more benign investing environment after the twice-a-decade Communist Party congress slated to start Oct. 16. The idea is policymakers will take bolder steps to shore up the economy once Xi locks in a precedent-breaking third term and packs key posts with loyalists.