January 2, 2025 | Foreign Policy
Xi Jinping’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year
The irony of his leadership is that a seemingly transformational figure cannot embrace change.
January 2, 2025 | Foreign Policy
Xi Jinping’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year
The irony of his leadership is that a seemingly transformational figure cannot embrace change.
Excerpt
2024 was disastrous for Chinese President Xi Jinping. For all of his rhetoric about “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” his regime faced staggering setbacks. Military purges intended to root out corruption instead revealed systemic turmoil that continues to undermine readiness. Economic growth cratered as unemployment, bankruptcies, and capital outflows soared. Meanwhile, key partners in Moscow and Damascus stumbled or fell, undermining Beijing’s geostrategic ambitions. Together, these and other crises have revealed a China that looks increasingly fragile, not formidable.
If 2024 shattered illusions of China’s unyielding ascent, 2025 promises to lay bare the vulnerabilities that Xi can no longer conceal.
Facing mounting problems at home and soon an emboldened U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, Xi is nevertheless not banking on dramatic shifts or bold reforms. Instead, he is pursuing a policy of perseverance: muddling through economic stagnation, avoiding outright confrontation with Washington, doubling down on ideological discipline, and fomenting chaos abroad to distract adversaries and buy time to stabilize his precarious position.
Craig Singleton is a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. diplomat. X: @CraigMSingleton.