China | The difficult path ahead

China’s economy is in for another rough year

Bold action is needed to turn things around

A lone office worker walks in the Central Business District, Beijing
Photograph: Getty Images
|HONG KONG

EACH DECEMBER China’s rulers gather for their Central Economic Work Conference, where they review the past 12 months and preview the tasks they face in the year ahead. It is a useful exercise, even if you are not a member of the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo.

Explore more

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “The difficult path ahead”

From the December 21st 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from China

An aerial view of a section of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in medong County, China

China approves the world’s most expensive infrastructure project

It has China’s neighbours on edge

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends BRICS in Kazan, Russia

Xi Jinping has much to worry about in 2025

A struggling economy, rising social tensions and Donald Trump will test China’s leader


Illustration depicting a stylised eye with the Chinese flag as the iris, connected by yellow network lines to two red-tinted globes on either side, symbolising global surveillance or influence.

How China turns members of its diaspora into spies

America is on the hunt for these non-traditional agents. But its efforts risk backfiring


How to get a free meal in China

As the economy slows, more restaurants are offering food to those in need

China cracks down on Karate-chopping cleaning ladies

The government doesn’t want people to be excessively entertained



Discover more

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, USA. Trump stood in front of a poster reading 'Deport Illegals Now'.

Can America’s economy cope with mass deportations?

Production slowdowns, more imports and pricier housing could follow

The secret to one of Europe’s best-performing stockmarkets

Its economy is mired in gloom, but its stock exchange is the envy of Europe


A woman walks past some damaged buildings after bombing by the Syrian regime in the city of Darayya on December 30, 2024

Syria’s new rulers have inherited an economic disaster

A legacy of mismanagement and lingering sanctions will make it hard to rebuild the country


Economic bright spots are getting harder to find in Thailand

Falling car production is a sign of a deeper malaise

Inflation in Britain looks irritatingly persistent

Worse, the risk has appeared just as growth is sputtering

South Sudan’s economic crisis threatens its fragile peace

It shows what happens when a petrostate’s lifeline disappears overnight