Some Economists See A Plus Side In Eliminating Term Limits For China's Xi Jinping
While this month's constitutional reform stirred political controversy, some economists say it could have a positive flip side for the global economy.
by Rob Schmitz
Mar 17, 2018
4 minutes
It was March 2007, China's legislature was wrapping up its annual session and Premier Wen Jiabao was about to speak at the closing press conference. The economy was seeing double-digit growth, a consumer class was rising and Beijing was soon hosting its first Olympics — there was every reason for a savvy politician to boast.
But that's not what the Chinese premier did.
"There are structural problems," Wen said ominously into a microphone, "which are causing unsteady, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development."
"It was a shocking speech at the time," says Peking University economist Michael Pettis.
Shocking because
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