Xi Jinping’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year

The irony of his leadership is that a seemingly transformational figure cannot embrace change.

Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Jan 2, 2025.

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.

Yet Xi’s approach carries significant risk. While his willingness to endure hardship may fortify his grip on power today, it threatens to unravel his aspirations for China’s national revival tomorrow.

Contrary to Xi’s carefully constructed image of competence, China’s domestic dilemmas remain profound. A shrinking population, a weakening currency, and dwindling foreign investment have exposed cracks in Xi’s economic stewardship. They also undermine the Communist Party’s bargain with the Chinese people: prosperity in exchange for compliance. China’s crisis of confidence risks spiraling into a vicious cycle as weak growth deters investment, shrinks spending, deepens deflation, and raises unemployment—all of which drag growth even lower. Xi’s reliance on meager supply-side stimulus has delivered fleeting sugar highs, with modest spending upticks and short-lived credit expansions. But ballooning debt, bad real estate bets, and a stock market that has been flat for a decade leave Xi with few levers to reignite growth.

Worse still, Xi’s campaign to root out perceived weaknesses within the party, military, and private sector has compounded his conundrum. Purges of senior officials such as People’s Liberation Army Navy Adm. Miao Hua—a key enforcer of Xi’s ideological conformity accused of “serious violations of discipline”—as well as former Defense Minister Li Shangfu underscore rot within the ranks. The reported detention of more than 80 business executives in 2024 alone has stifled innovation and fueled fears of arbitrary state intervention. While these actions may consolidate loyalty and enforce control, they also deepen distrust and erode the competence that Xi needs to navigate mounting pressures.

These widening woes have only steeled Xi’s resolve. He routinely invokes Western “encirclement” and “containment,” blaming the United States for thwarting China’s rise. But he uses this narrative to justify ever-expanding repression at home, including constructing more than 200 party-run, extrajudicial detention facilities to enforce discipline and root out dissent. In Xi’s view, China’s domestic struggles ultimately stem from weak ideological discipline and insufficient loyalty to his vision. Put differently, in Xi’s mind, China isn’t broken; it’s disobedient. His solution? A stronger dose of the same medicine: tighter party control, intensified repression, and an unrelenting drive to cement his legacy as the architect of China’s historical destiny.

Amid internal challenges, Xi is turning to chaos abroad to reshape the international order in China’s

Episode 3732 - Jan 6 - Tiếng Anh - 2025, Năm khủng khiếp, không tốt đẹp cho Tập - Vina Technology at AI time

Vina Technology at AI time - Công nghệ Việt Nam thời AI

Episode 3732 - Jan 6 - Tiếng Anh - 2025, Năm khủng khiếp, không tốt đẹp cho Tập - Vina Technology at AI time