Hu Jintao’s Exit From China’s Communist Party Congress Causes a Stir

Choreography of the congress that extended Xi Jinping’s rule of China was briefly disrupted over the weekend by a highly unusual and unceremonious exit from the proceedings by Mr. Xi’s predecessor, 79-year-old Hu Jintao.To get more news about china party congress, you can visit shine news official website.

The midmeeting departure of Mr. Hu on Saturday highlighted 69-year-old Mr. Xi’s supremacy and served as a reminder of a generational shift in power at the top of the Chinese Communist Party.

Also, Jiang Zemin, the 96-year-old who preceded Mr. Hu as party chief and president, was among notable retired party stalwarts who didn’t appear along with the almost 2,300 delegates in the Great Hall of the People for the opening of the congress on Oct. 16. Former Premier Zhu Rongji, who turns 94 on Monday, also was absent.

The party on Sunday handed Mr. Xi a mandate to rule into a second decade and announced a new slate of leaders under him as rivals head toward retirement. The congress provides a rare vantage point to observe party elders, who tend to disappear from public view once retired, even as they retain a behind-the-scenes role in power-maneuvering.
Midway through the otherwise carefully choreographed closing session of the congress on Saturday, Mr. Hu was helped out of his chair next to Mr. Xi and inexplicably led out of the hall. Mr. Hu’s ashen look and gray mop of hair had already made him stand out during the congress’s opening session on Oct. 16, and to some China watchers the image seemed to illustrate his faded relevance in the Xi era.

Footage shot by foreign media in the hall, which wasn’t included in the official China Central Television broadcast, showed Mr. Hu seemingly reluctant or unable to stand up when an aide tried to lift him off his chair.

In the commotion, Mr. Xi leaned toward Mr. Hu and appeared to speak with him, pulling back a document Mr. Hu set his hand upon. Mr. Hu was ushered off the center dais, briefly looking back at Mr. Xi and patting outgoing Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder as he walked out, unsupported.

Other senior leaders remained seated but appeared dumbfounded. As the meeting continued, Mr. Xi presided next to an empty chair.It wasn’t clear why Mr. Hu left or where he went. The incident has gone unmentioned in China’s domestic media coverage and no trace of it could be found on the Chinese internet. China’s State Council didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Twitter, Xinhua news agency suggested Mr. Hu’s issue was health-related. In English, indicating the report was aimed at an international audience, the government-run agency said Mr. Hu “was not feeling well during the session” and left to rest in a room next to the meeting venue. “Now, he is much better,” the account said.

Mr. Hu’s decadelong tenure as party leader and president was notable for a collective leadership of China that Mr. Xi abandoned after taking power in 2012. Mr. Hu hails from a faction of the party known as the China Youth League that lost importance under Mr. Xi. A number of Mr. Hu’s protégés were also targeted in Mr. Xi’s anticorruption investigations.
CCTV’s nightly news broadcast on Saturday carried video of Mr. Hu alongside Mr. Xi during the meeting and voting with other delegates, but ignored his departure.

Party secrecy about Chinese leaders, including their health, tends to fuel rumors. In the absence of details, Mr. Hu’s departure was a major topic of debate online outside China over whether it reflected health issues or power politics.

Mr. Hu’s removal didn’t have the stage-managed feel of an orchestrated purge, said China expert Jude Blanchette of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Though he said that interpretation is understandable given the otherwise “raw demonstration of [Mr.] Xi’s dominance and disregard for the norms, rules and compromises that have guided Chinese politics for several decades.”

Retired party elders rarely appear in public, but they retain influence in China, and their presence at major party events can signal regime continuity. Mr. Jiang in particular had sometimes also been a counterweight to his successors, Messrs. Hu and Xi, according to political analysts.

How to: Care for Your Pet Mouse

Mice are inquisitive and love human companionship. So if you’ve chosen to adopt a mouse, what’s the best way of caring for these gentle little animals? Read on to find out.To get more news about Mouse Cage, you can visit senpinghz.com official website.

RSPCA NSW’s six-point guide will help you ensure your mouse stays happy and healthy. Remember, if you have any concerns or questions, speak to your veterinarian as soon as possible.
1. Companionship

Mice are very sociable, so enjoy being kept with other mice. However, if you do keep males and females together, make sure both animals are the same sex or at least one gender has been desexed. Paired females tend to get on better than paired males.

2. Diet

Mice are omnivores, so eat both animal and plant materials. They need a protein level of at least 16 per cent and a fat content of four to five per cent. To ensure your mouse stays happy and healthy, you should feed him:

fresh fruit and vegetables, such as apples (without seeds), bananas, beans, berries, bok choy and other Asian greens, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, citrus fruits, endive, fresh corn, melon, parsley, peas, pears, stone fruits and tomatoes
a small amount of good quality commercial rat pellets or rat cubes
access to clean, fresh water at all times. A bottle-type drinker works well, as the water won’t get dirty.
Do not give your mouse a diet based on grains or seed mixes. Bread, breakfast cereal, biscuits, cereals, cooked pasta, cooked rice, seeds and sweets should be considered occasional treats. Never feed your mouse chips, chocolate, garlic, lemons, lollies, onions, oranges, raw meat, peanuts or sugar.
Mice are very intelligent, so will enjoy playing with toys. Try putting treats into an empty kitchen or toilet roll tube, and stuffing both ends with paper for him. You can also give him a hammock to swing in.

4. Handling

Always make sure you handle your mouse gently. This will help him stay calm. Never pick him up by his tail.

5. Health

By ensuring your mouse is given a good diet, you will help protect him from many common health problems. These include obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as joint and mobility problems. Keeping his cage clean is also vital.

Mice are very susceptible to heat stress, which can be fatal. Make sure his cage is kept in a sheltered area which is well ventilated, and kept out of direct sunlight and strong winds. He must always have access to adequate shade.

Monitoring and trapping with sticky traps, what’s new?

One hundred years ago, it was observed that greenhouse whiteflies, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) are particularly attracted to opaque yellow traps (Lloyd, 1921). Today, millions of sticky traps (card or plastic covered with a thin layer of a clear adhesive substance) of different colours are used worldwide. They are used for the monitoring, decision making (Böckmann et al, 2015), and mass trapping (Sampson and Kirk, 2013), of flying crop pests as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This article explores how traps are used today, recent developments and the next steps needed to make the best use of these simple tools.To get more news about Yellow Sticky Traps, you can visit senpinghz.com official website.

The attraction of colour
Colours are used by insect pests to locate host plants (Prokopy & Owens, 1983). Yellow traps, with high reflectance in the long-wave region from green to red (about 500-640 nm) and low reflectance in the short-wave region from UV to blue (about 300-500 nm), are particularly attractive to leaf-feeding insects, such as aphids, small flies, thrips and whiteflies (Figure 1a). Flower and fruit-visiting insects are often attracted to the colour of their host’s flowers or fruit (Kirk, 1984): The spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, which lays its eggs in berry fruit, has an attraction to red (Kirkpatrick et al., 2017); The western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis, typically shows preference for blue traps (440-460nm) in greenhouse grown crops (Figure 1b).
Other features of the trap can affect trap catch, such as background, length of edge, shape, position, and surface texture (Vernon and Gillespie, 1995). Relative attraction can be affected by ambient light conditions, or be enhanced by LEDs. The selection of the best trap colour will depend on the purpose of trapping. Yellow sticky traps are a good choice for monitoring a wide range of pest species on a single trap (Figure 2a,b). Other trap colours, such as blue for thrips and capsids or red for SWD, are more appropriate when a grower is selecting traps to maximise the catch of specific species. Sometimes less attractive trap colours are selected in order to minimise the catch of non-target insects, including predators and pollinators. For example,

black sticky traps (Black impact traps, Russell IPM) are combined with a species-specific pheromone to catch the marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys. This ensures that only the target pests are caught, making the pests easier to identify and count. Sticky traps are available with different glue types, which affects the range of species caught. The strongest glue is sold with a peel-off silicon paper (eg Impact traps, Russell IPM), which is required to capture larger species such as marmorated stink bug. Traps are also available with tacky ‘wet’ glue which retain high catch rates of small pest species, such as whiteflies, but from which larger species can escape (eg Hytak traps, Russell IPM). These are used to reduce by-catch of some of the larger predators and pollinators, such as lacewings, Orius and bees.

Insect behaviour is partly controlled by semiochemicals (scents), such as pheromones, kairomones and their analogues, which are used to locate mates and plant hosts. These can be added to sticky traps to increase trap catch. The scents can be added as individual lures, or encapsulated for longer release and added to the glue within the sticky traps (eg Optiroll super plus, Russell IPM). A number of attractants, including (E)-2-Hexenal and 3-Hexen-1-ol and Linalool, have been identified to attract the glasshouse whitefly, yet few have been found effective in the field or developed commercially (Schlaeger et al, 2018). In contrast, many attractants have proved effective against WFT and a range of thrips attractants are available commercially (Kirk et al, 2021). In experiments in greenhouse strawberry, adding the aggregation pheromone, neryl (S)-methyl butanoate (Thripline AMS, Bioline Agrosciences), the kairomone analogue methyl isonicotinate (Lurem-T, Koppert) and a mix of floral scents (Thripnok, Russell IPM) to yellow sticky traps, enhanced trap catch of the western flower thrips, by 50-300% (Figure 3).

The best choice of attractant will depend on the crop and thrips species present. Whereas the western flower thrips aggregation pheromone is highly specific to WFT, kairomones and their analogues are more generally attractive to a range of flower-inhabiting thrips species. A range of lures are available for different pest species. In raspberry, adding a fruit volatile lure (SWD lure, Russell IPM) to red sticky traps increased trap catch of spotted wing drosophila by x46, making the trap and lure combinations a convenient and sensitive monitoring tool (Figure 4).

Why a first-aid kit is important in an emergency

Our homes are covered with smoke alarms, but are you prepared for a serious burn, or bite, nosebleed, sprain or fracture from a fall? Would you know what to do in an emergency?To get more news about stop the bleed, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.

Outside of the home, Safe Work Australia requires all workers be able to access a first-aid kit in their workplace. Containing all the components you need to be workplace compliant, this kit will have you covered for any workplace emergency.

An organised and properly stocked first aid kit means being prepared – you could help you save a life.

Up to 15% of motor vehicle accident deaths could be prevented if first aid is administered before paramedics arrive on the scene.Sadly, fewer than five per cent of people in Australia are trained in first aid, one of the lowest rates in the world, according to the Red Cross.

Doing a first aid course is recommended to give you the knowledge and skills to provide capable first aid assistance.

Guide To The Best Ifak Trauma Kit For Your Need

There are hundreds of possibilities accessible when picking which ifak trauma kit to purchase. First, decide on the type of goods you desire. Following that, you’ll want to establish a budget and identify the required features to meet the brief. You might also hire us to perform the legwork for you.To get more news about IFAK kit, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.
There are lots of ifak trauma kit to choose from. Here’s a guide with information on how you can take advantage of the different features and recommendations for some specific models to choose from.

We’ve reviewed products in every price range and developed a list of our favourites in various popular categories. Below that list is a full buying guide detailing the pros and disadvantages of the various product styles and an analysis of their important features. Continue reading to learn about the market’s top ifak trauma kit; we’ve got you covered.
Throughout our analysis, we evaluated and ranked each product across factors: materials, quality, and closure quality. We found that performance across many of these factors was related to each other, where high performance in one metric typically leads to high performance across other metrics. With few exceptions, the highest-ranked products seemed to rise to the top of nearly every category.

I consulted with medical professionals to build this kit. I stand by and produce only the products that I use myself as a soldier. Military grade components in this IFAK made for civilians, first responders, and military. ZERO risk purchase and 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. We are real humans in the United States with a real company and a real warranty. Don’t trust the other Chinese brands on Amazon with a human life.
Z-Fold Compressed Gauze to pack wound, Nasopharyngeal Airway to open airway, TPE Tourniquet to control bleeding, Chest Seal to close sucking chest wound, Antiseptic Wipes to prevent infections, First Aid bandages for cuts and scrapes, and much more included!
Pull tab with one hand to deploy all medical contents in less than a second. 1000D Nylon Outer shell stays in place while center contents are removed and open up for lightning fast access.
Anyone can save a life with this Individual First Aid Kit. Civilians, Outdoors Enthusiasts, Teachers, First Responders, and Military Personnel. Everything in this med kit is geared toward controlling bleeding, dressing the wound, packing the wound, preventing infection, opening airways, and shock prevention until first responders arrive.
The smallest IFAK Trauma Kit on Amazon can be stored ANYWHERE, and still contain everything needed to save a life and treat everyday wounds. Your belt, MOLLE, vest, small bag pocket, glove box, center console, in a drawer, small purse, and even in a jacket pocket. Molle compatible. Belt-Loop Compatible.
This kit contains the most use friendly, compact and popular survival and first aid supplies for massive bleeding control on the market, which includes: military combat tourniquet, tactical pressure dressing, and compressed gauze.
Sealing the open chest wound seems like a no brainer for respiratory care. As a seal, a durable plastic packaging of any product in the kit can be used to seal the wound with the first aid tape. A shock often occurs after massive loss of blood, causing a drop of body temperature. The emergency thermal blanket is designed to keep body temperature warm as a treatment for hypothermia.
Uniquely customized by U.S military VETERANS to get you well-prepared in advance to emergencies during the outdoor adventure, hunting, camping, travel, disaster, and accident. Everlit Emergency Trauma Kit is ideal for field tactical medics, police, military, combat life savers, first responders, outdoor enthusiasts and more!
36 Inch Splint Roll to keep your bones in position, triangle bandage and elastic bandage to wrap around and secure the limb from moving around. Together, those items are purposely selected in this kit for any bone fracture of your limbs.

Car Tires Guide: Everything You Need to Know

A car is an immensely complex amalgamation of many components, each working in concert to get you and the people you love where you need to go safely, affordably, and hopefully with a little bit of fun along the way. But of all the thousands of things that make a car work, tires are the only parts in contact with the ground, and they’re what move you.To get more news about car tire, you can visit gofortunetire.com official website.

Tires also rank among the most crucial to your safety, whether on highways or a curvy backroad.

When they need replacing, a tire shop or dealership can seem intimidating with dozens of types on the wall and an employee at a computer with a database of even more choices.

We’ll walk you through the basics of tires and help you understand these circles of rubber that keep you on the road. We’ll provide all the basics, including all the types of tires available and the numbers behind them.

Types of Tires
The bad news — there are at least six types of tires common enough that the average tire shop generally has them in stock. The good news — almost everyone needs the same type.

In a few climates, it helps to know about a second type of tire. The rest are for people who buy specialized vehicles. So, most of us can skip them. If you’re shopping for a performance car or a vehicle you’re going to take off-road, you will need to learn a few more terms. But people buying those types of cars expect the need for a bit of special knowledge.

The better news — the company that built your car almost certainly shipped it to you with the best tire choice for your vehicle. All you need to do is avoid big changes to keep things rolling.

All-Season Tires
All-season tires work like the casual shoes of the car world. They must do most things well that people need them to do. They provide a good combination of safe traction in most weather conditions, reasonably low noise, and long life at a moderate price.

Most cars come from the factory wearing all-season tires. When all-season tires wear out, most people get another set and go on driving safely. They are usually sold according to how many miles they are expected to last in normal driving.
These are the cross trainers of tires. They come standard on many sports cars. Their rubber is a bit softer than what’s used to make standard all-season tires, so they grip the road a bit more. But they last about two-thirds as long as the more common all-season tires and cost a bit more. Could you improve your family sedan’s performance with a grippier set of high-performance all-season tires? Probably. But you’d spend more up front and have to spend it again sooner.
High-Performance Summer Tires
The halfway point between an all-season tire and a racing tire, high-performance summer tires are like good running shoes for your car. But this is where our shoe analogy falls apart.

Changing your shoes several times a day is no big deal. Changing your tires several times a season is time-consuming and costly. In mild climates, high-performance tires may serve all summer long. But when steady rain or any snow is a possibility, they won’t do. So most consumers don’t buy them or only use them on a sports car kept around as a second vehicle. They are rarely the right choice on a daily driver.

These are faster and built of softer and stickier rubber than all-season tires. They’re safe enough in light rain, but lose traction in heavier storms, and are simply unsafe in cold weather.

Home security: how to make your home safer

The good news is that there's a range of ways to make your home safer, by considering each possible entry point to your home, such as doors and windows, to see how they could be improved.To get more news about door and window security, you can visit securamsys.com official website.

How good is your home security?
As well as opportunistic burglaries, some burglars scope out a property beforehand, sometimes working with other criminals.

It's therefore important to think about measures to ensure your home looks occupied at all times, that there aren't any clear places where a potential burglar could hide to assess the house.

Also, don't make it obvious that you are away on holiday. Consider using lights on timers or getting a friend or neighbour to occasionally pop around to check on your home. Also, avoid mentioning about going away on any public-facing social media accounts as you never know who is browsing your profile.
How does a burglar scope a house?
We've surveyed ex-burglars and spoken to security experts to discover exactly what really puts them off, including everything from dogs to different alarm brands.

Burglars look for the weakness in your security, and this starts with the front of your house. A potential burglar will look for signs that you aren’t security conscious: doors with a single cylinder or Yale lock, or a lack of window locks.

They also look out for tell-tale mistakes, such as keys left in a back door or window locks with the keys still inside.

A burglar will look for tools, such as ladders, that have been left lying around. They will also check if sheds or outbuildings are properly secured.

The ex-burglars we surveyed told us that they were most likely to target detached houses. According to our interviewees, this is likely to be due to ease of access.
Terraced houses are trickier. There are potentially more people about, plus it's hard to make a quick escape out the back if the burglar has to navigate lots of fences.

They'll also consider whether or not their access route is overlooked. One told us that they would look for high hedges and anything else that would protect them from a neighbour’s line of sight.

Once a burglar has chosen a property to target, they will often scope it out. More professional burglars will do this for two or three days, according to the ex-burglars we spoke to.

This could mean going through your rubbish for a name on your mail, and then searching online to find a landline phone number and calling to see whether you're in. They might also now check your social media or online presence.

Opportunists, on the other hand, can visit a promising neighbourhood and break in the same day. One told us: 'You can just knock, then pretend you're from an energy company if someone is there.'

2D CAD VS. 3D CAD: WHY MAKING A CHOICE IS NOT NECESSARY

The development of CAD software
The use of CAD software makes it possible to create designs of machines, steel constructions and various complex products on the computer. The possibilities of CAD software have expanded considerably over the years, but the biggest change started about 20 years ago with the introduction of 3D CAD.To get more news about 2D cad software, you can visit shine news official website.

The advantages of 3D CAD
An increasing number of companies and governmental organisations use BIM in their public tenders. Because BIM works with 3D models, it is necessary to work with 3D CAD. Furthermore, 3D CAD has various advantages compared to 2D CAD. 3D CAD makes it possible to draw complex projects easily, make the drawings easier to read and can prevent errors. Nevertheless, many construction and steel engineering companies still use 2D CAD software and even the old school drawing board appears sometimes.

From 2D CAD to 3D CAD
Most 3D software make it possible to generate workshop drawings and other 2D views. This is useful on the building site or to control the drill-sawing line. In addition, 2D CAD makes it easier and more accurate to modify views, sections and connections. But this is precisely where the shoe pinches. Because exchanging drawings from 2D to 3D is very time-consuming, changes are often only made in 2D. This results in different versions of drawings, with errors and additional work as a consequence. Fortunately, there is a solution for this.

Why choosing between 2D and 3D is not necessary
The advantages of combining 3D CAD and 2D? Most suppliers of CAD software will say that it is impossible. HiCAD by ISD Group proves this wrong. With HiCAD you can switch easily from 3D to 2D and back, make changes easily and only in one system.

Do you wonder how HiCAD could help your company to save costs? Download the guide “7 golden tips for a profitable steel engineering company” now for more information on HiCAD and other saving tips.

The 20th Party Congress & China’s Foreign Policy

From October 16 to 22, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its 20th Party Congress. The Party Congress is held every five years to reshuffle the Party’s top leadership, followed by a political report delivered by the Party General Secretary. This report reviews the achievements of the past five years and sets priorities for the next five years. During the 20th Party Congress, Xi Jinping secured a third term as General Secretary of the CCP and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. In spring 2023, the National People’s Congress will elect the next president of the People’s Republic of China and minister of foreign affairs. China watchers around the world have been closely tracking the personnel changes and analyzing the Party Congress political report.To get more news about China's 20th party congress, you can visit shine news official website.

To analyze some of the crucial elements of that report and discuss the impact of the Party Congress on China’s foreign policy strategy, host Bonnie Glaser speaks with Dr. Bates Gill. Gill is the executive director of the newly established Center for China Analysis at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Gill has authored or edited nine books on China and Asia, including Daring to Struggle: China’s Global Ambitions under Xi Jinping, which was published in June 2022.
The work report that Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered at the beginning of China's quinquennial 20th Party Congress suggests the next five years will be characterized by a heavy-fisted approach to domestic cultural, political and ethnic affairs, as well as a siege mentality toward foreign affairs. These work reports are designed to review the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) governing successes over the last five years and lay out high-level policy goals for the next five years. The Party Congress started on Oct. 16 and will end on Oct. 22, when its nearly 2,300 delegates will approve changes to the constitution, bolstering Xi's ideological leadership of the CCP. The delegates will also approve the new composition of the 300-400 person Central Committee, the CCP's top cadres from across the country. On Oct. 23, the first plenum of the newly minted 20th Central Committee will meet, revealing the composition of the CCP's...

China’s future after party congress ‘more unpredictable than usual’

The reappointment of Xi Jinping by the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party to an unprecedented third term as president puts him in the role of leader until at least 2027. Given the problems facing China at present, University of Rochester China expert John Osburg says, “We’re entering a period even more unpredictable than usual.”To get more news about 20th national congress, you can visit shine news official website.

Osburg, an anthropologist, is the author of Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality among China’s New Rich (Stanford University Press, 2013), which examines the rise of elite business networks in China and documents the changing values, lifestyles, and consumption habits of China’s new rich and middle classes. That new wealth came about rapidly, following the post-Mao period that began in 1978 known as the Reform and Opening Period. It marked the longest uninterrupted economic expansion in modern history.

Now, however, China is facing a serious slowdown due to COVID restrictions and the reassertion of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) control over the economy. Osburg says people in China are getting tired of the lockdowns and travel restrictions resulting from the country’s zero-COVID policy. If the policies remain in place, Osburg says, “There will likely be a continued economic slowdown, along with growing frustration among ordinary citizens.”
Will Xi Jinping now be president for life?
Osburg: This certainly appears to be the most likely scenario going forward barring unforeseen circumstances. In previous decades the successor to the current party secretary was usually known well in advance of a Party Congress. But Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have made no signs of appointing a successor.

How much has China changed under Xi Jinping? How much has it changed in the last five years alone?
Osburg: It has changed quite a bit under Xi Jinping, and especially in the past few years. China-watchers call the period from 1978 up until recently the Reform and Opening Era. During this time, China opened up to the outside world both culturally and economically after 30 years of relative isolation under Mao. Over the course of 40 years, China went from being a poor nation to having the second largest economy in the world, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Chinese students now study in all the top universities in the world, and China is the global center of manufacturing with significant trade ties to just about every country.
But all of this has started to change under Xi. At the start of the reform period, most people assumed that China’s continued social, political, and economic liberalization once begun would be unstoppable. Bill Clinton famously stated that China trying to censor the internet would be like “nailing Jell-O to the wall.” But under Xi, not only is the internet more heavily censored and monitored than a decade ago, Xi also views certain Western ideas as hostile and threatening to (his interpretation of) the tenets of Chinese civilization. In terms of economic reform, for the first time since 1978, after the largest continual economic expansion in modern human history, China’s economy is facing a serious slowdown, largely due to COVID lockdowns and debt problems in the real estate sector, but also partly due to CCP policies which have attempted to reassert state control over the economy.

Osburg: The big question is whether or not China abandons or alters their zero-COVID policy. If they don’t, there will likely be a continued economic slowdown, along with growing frustration among ordinary citizens. Lots of people are getting tired of the disruptions brought by this policy, from the lockdowns to not being able to travel abroad. A big component of the CCP’s legitimacy since 1978 has been an implicit bargain that offers citizens constant improvement in their material standard of living in exchange for political acquiescence. Now that the decades-long boom finally seems to be coming to an end, this bargain could be falling apart. Will there be growing anger at the CCP? Will the state attempt to assert even more control over the economy? Will we see opposition to Xi from other political and economic elites? Western observers of China frequently get their predictions about China’s future completely wrong, so I’m hesitant to make a prediction other than to underscore that with Xi beginning an unprecedented third term, the economy in bad shape, and COVID still a wildcard, we’re entering a period even more unpredictable than usual.

Osburg: Gauging public opinion in China is a difficult task given the very different political and media environment there. I would say that there was considerable support for Xi up until quite recently. The anti-corruption campaign he launched in 2013 was quite popular with ordinary people. In 2020 and 2021, many Chinese were proud of how well their country had managed COVID, especially compared with the US, in which over a million people have died. This all changed with the arrival of the Omicron variant and the growing number of lockdowns. Now people in China see life going back to normal in much of the world while their lives are increasingly disrupted. Lots of businesses are struggling, and youth unemployment is on the rise. The real estate industry is in very bad shape, and local governments have taken on a ton of debt, partly to pay for all the expenses related to covid testing and monitoring. As China’s “Chairman of Everything” Xi’s able to take credit for China’s successes, but his centralization of power puts him at risk of getting blamed for China’s mounting problems.