Xi’s ‘Great Rejuvenation’ Runs Into China’s ‘Great Exhaustion’
A volunteer reminds people of social distance as they line up to buy necessities near their residential block in Xian city in Shaanxi province, on Jan. 3.
Photographer: Roy Stone/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Addressing his nation on New Year’s Eve, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned of dangers ahead. National rejuvenation, he announced, will be no “walk in the park.” He said “we must always keep a long-term perspective, and attain the broad and great while addressing the delicate and minute.”
No task seems too small for Xi, a reputed micromanager who has been called the “chairman of everything.” He personally signs off on corruption investigations, drafts urban blueprints and decides on ecological matters such as the management of lakes. State media has even reported his instructions on how to improve public toilets.