News from China these days is mostly depressing, owing to the government's escalating crackdown on its critics. But what few observers — particularly economic analysts — seem to understand is that the Chinese leadership's fight against liberalism and "Western values" is directly undermining its efforts to root out official corruption, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and deepen engagement with the outside world.
The regime's retrograde politics will have serious consequences for China's continued economic development.
For starters, the government has intensified its censorship of the Internet, rendering popular portals and sites — including Google, Facebook and the New York Times — all but inaccessible.