Three times — in 1972, 1989, and 1999 — American presidents rescued Chinese communism. Now, Xi Jinping’s China, plagued by problems of his own making, desperately needs a lifeline.
A trade deal with President Donald Trump looks as if it is the only thing that can revive the Chinese economy and thereby save Xi’s brand of communism. Many, in fact, are urging Trump to drop his Section 301 tariffs and sign such a pact.
Will the American president do so?
At the moment, Xi is besieged, blamed for multiple policy mistakes. First, his relentlessly pursued back-to-Mao policies have helped push the Chinese economy downward, perhaps to the point of contraction, as May’s depressing numbers suggest. Perhaps the most indicative statistic is that of imports, which during the month fell 8.5%, a clear sign of softening domestic demand.
Economists say consumption now drives the Chinese economy. Retail sales for the month, according to Beijing, increased a strong 8.6%. That figure is suspiciously high because it is based on this figure: retail sales of cars rising 2.1% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. However. the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that car sales suffered their worst monthly drop ever in May, down a stunning 16.4% from the same month a year earlier, the 11th-straight month of decline.
There are other symptoms of distress.
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