NEW DELHI: China’s economy is in bad shape although nowhere near the kind of collapse that Western media tends to project. But tough times are expected to continue at least until the party congress later this year, when Xi Jinping will get confirmed for an unprecedented third term. That’s the view from Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu correspondent in Beijing, who answered questions on China’s economy in a conversation on The Gist. The “zero Covid” policy, he confirmed, and attendant lockdowns had disrupted economic activity including transport. The government’s crackdown on big tech and the property bubble has added to the sense of crisis. Young people, Krishnan said, were less than optimistic about their future given concerns about job security. In fact, more people are applying for government jobs, an indication of how deep the concern and worries are.
