How Far Will Xi Go in China’s Prosperity Push?

A rickshaw driver in front of a billboard featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shanghai on Aug. 30.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

As the West frets about the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the highly contagious delta variant of Covid-19, Xi Jinping is cleaning house.

After years of breakneck growth that spawned billionaires and world-class tech companies, China’s president is now emphasizing the need for “common prosperity.”