Pankaj Mishra, Columnist

There's Nothing Shocking About Xi's Rise

China's course won't be determined by the wishful thinking of foreigners.

March 5, 2018 at 10:00 PM UTC

By Pankaj Mishra

Pankaj Mishra is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is author, most recently, of “Run and Hide.”

China's new emperor.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

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In a season of political shocks, President Xi Jinping’s assumption of supreme power has still managed to startle many longstanding observers of China. The Economist magazine dramatically declared, “The West’s 25-year bet on China has failed.” Instead of moving towards democracy, these voices suggest, China is sliding further into authoritarianism.

It’s worth asking, if for no reason than to avoid more such shocks in the near future, why the “West” placed this bet on China at all.