Howard Chua-Eoan, Columnist

Xi Jinping and the Congress That Can’t Say No

The economy needs to return to its breathtaking past, but Beijing just wants to deepen its control over everything.

March 1, 2024 at 4:00 PM UTC

Howard Chua-Eoan is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering culture and business. He previously served as Bloomberg Opinion's international editor and is a former news director at Time magazine.

Xi does what Xi wants.
Photographer: GREG BAKER/AFP

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As China prepared for this year’s sessions of its rubber-stamp legislature, the economy’s not looking rosy for President Xi Jinping. Repeating 5% growth in 2024 will be a tough order, given the country’s aches and pains.