Chinese leader Xi Jinping faces pressure amid under-performing economy

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is under tremendous pressure amid economic slowdown as it may put questions over an unprecedented third consecutive term at the head of the party.

Xi could face cracks in his power base amid an economic slowdown, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal wrote on Tuesday, reported Taiwan News.

The Chinese economy is underperforming amid the ongoing COVID lockdowns and tighter controls. Moreover, Xi's government has imposed on the private sector, including crackdowns on technology and property developers.

The problems have even caused former leading Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, such as ex-Premier Zhu Rongji, to express disquiet and question the wisdom of allowing Xi an unprecedented third consecutive term at the head of the party, the WSJ report said.

Xi's "push to steer China away from capitalism and the West has thrown the Chinese economy into uncertainty and exposed faint cracks in his hold on power," according to the WSJ.

The COVID pandemic, which started under his rule, has still not been contained, with lockdowns affecting consumer spending and industrial production.

China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth could decrease by 1-2 per cent if Beijing, in order to fight the COVID-19 outbreak which is highest in the last two years, continues to impose lockdown in large portions of the country.

China is reporting the highest coronavirus outbreak in the last two years with over 1,400 new coronavirus cases per day and the Chinese authorities are struggling to deal with the

Most of the new local cases have been reported from eastern provinces like Jilin (Changchun as epicentre), Guangdong (Shenzhen as epicentre), Shandong and Shaanxi. Certain districts of Jiangsu province have announced monetary awards, up to 10,000 Yuan, for reporting violations of coronavirus rules.

China has recorded the lowest economic growth in four decades as it grew by 2.3 per cent according to the latest data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics.

China, which is the second-biggest economy in the world, is facing a slowdown due to a slump in manufacturing, real estate, exports, inflation, and consumer spending, according to several reports, which added that the ongoing Ukraine crisis poses may further damage its economy.

This year, China has set a target of around 5.5 per cent for GDP growth, which is the lowest in decades.

Rising unemployment is another major problem China is facing as unemployment among fresh university graduates increased to 0.88 in the fourth quarter of 2021 from 0.79 in the second quarter of 2020.

Since the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Xi has also been trying to maintain a balancing act by not condemning Moscow while trying to avoid angering the West by supporting it.

While a year ago it looked like Xi's hold on power was unassailable, the CCP is now trying to move away from some of its economic policies to revive growth after the 4 per cent GDP growth the country recorded in the fourth quarter last year, the report said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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