Given that this is supposed to be a time of year of contemplation and assessment, you have to wonder what President Xi Jinping and his coterie of heavies think they are accomplishing. It’s generally known that Xi is set on elevating China’s international stature, but doing so by attacking, insulting, threatening or persecuting people, either at home or abroad, seems an odd way of doing it.
The reasoning seems faulty. For instance, recent reports have it that Beijing’s vast propaganda machine has mounted a determined effort to reject responsibility for the COVID-19 outbreak, blaming it on somebody else.
So why bother? They may be able to dupe the locals, but do Communist bosses expect anyone beyond the reach of state censors — i.e., the rest of the world — to swallow such bunk?
Maybe they’re getting nervous. Britain’s Financial Times recently reported that Xi’s signature economic plan, the “belt-and-road” scheme to increase Chinese influence in developing countries, is struggling. Loans have fallen off dramatically as strapped governments in low-income countries threaten default over ill-conceived megaprojects. “It’s undeniable that the program has run into deep trouble, along with many of the associated loans,” according to Bloomberg News.
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