Chinese President Xi Jinping took a big gamble shaking up key industries ahead of a political gathering that could decide whether he rules the country indefinitely. Now he’s starting to hit the brakes.
In recent weeks Chinese authorities have moved to soften sweeping policies designed to make the economy less dependent on debt, monopolies and fossil fuels. While Beijing’s edicts chastened China’s corporate elites, they also began showing signs of hitting ordinary citizens with higher power bills, lost savings and — if the economy continues to struggle — potentially fewer jobs.
Premier Li Keqiang expressed caution a week ago, saying China needed to rethink the pace of the country’s energy transition as a power crisis threatened to keep factories in the dark and homes without heat during the winter.