Xi Jinping’s Year of Living Dangerously
The Chinese leader has had a tough 12 months. It looks like 2024 is going to be even more challenging.
Facing headwinds.
Photographer: Suo Takekuma-Pool/Getty Images
The year of the dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, is meant to bring about luck, good fortune, and prosperity. That’s likely what Chinese President Xi Jinping will be hoping for as he enters 2024 and looks to put the last 12 difficult months behind him. There will be many flashpoints to contend with — among them a weak economic recovery, elections in Taiwan, and the possibility of Donald Trump reentering the White House.
Xi’s 2023 started badly. The country slowly emerged from the pandemic and posted one of the worst growth rates on record. Businesses, both big and small, had been hit hard. Worried about their economic futures, people were reluctant to spend. And while economic activity has picked up slightly this year, it is expected to slow further in 2024 because of weakness in the real estate sector, soft consumer demand, and a lackluster government stimulus package.