Anti-government protests spread all around China over the weekend of 27th November 2022. In an article for Mint, Dr Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director, Artha Global, writes, “The ongoing protests in China against Xi Jinping’s zero-covid policies have also put the spotlight on Beijing’s slowing economy.”
Excerpts below:
“The implicit social contract between Chinese citizens and the Communist Party was that the latter would deliver rapid growth in living standards in return for which people would accept a political system that gave them only minimal freedoms. That social contract could be weakening as China’s economy stutters. It is not just a matter of temporary lockdowns. The Chinese economy is in the midst of a broader structural slowdown because of trends in the three standard components of economic growth—labour, capital and productivity.
“The shift from an economy driven by more inputs to one driven by more productivity is tough, but also essential for China. Its old economic model is now incapable of delivering rapid growth. The Western alliance has learned from its past mistakes and is unlikely to give China access to its latest technology. Can China beat them at that game?”
Read the full article here.
