Why Xi Jinping needs a plan B for China’s economy

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But President Xi Jinping and his top policymakers are adhering to a stance they call dingli, or “maintaining strategic focus”. Many economists take this to mean continuing to reduce debt, especially in the heavily overleveraged property sector while pursuing global leadership in advanced technology and other strategic areas of the economy, such as a transition to green energy. “Xi Jinping does not define economic success in terms of GDP growth,” says Arthur Kroeber, founding partner and head of research at Gavekal Dragonomics. “He defines it in terms of tech self-sufficiency.” As long as the government can hit its targets on...