Xi Jinping offered no solution to the crisis

During his two-hour opening speech at the Communist Party Congress, Xi Jinping made no sweeping proposals for China's economic recovery, ranging from problems related to the real estate crisis to rising youth unemployment.

What is troubling among experts, however, is that Xi has shown no attempt to move away from the strict zero-Covid policy or from the practice of strict state control over the businesses that are hampering economic growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Craig Singleton, a senior fellow in the China Division at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that Xi's speech yesterday confirms what many China experts have long suspected: Xi is not going to engage in market liberalization or soften his zero-Covid policy, at least not anytime soon.

The PRC is the world''s last major economy that still maintains its strict zero-Covid measures, which are designed to eliminate the chains of transmission by imposing border restrictions, massive virus detection tests, extensive quarantines, and uncompromising lockdowns.

Meanwhile, China's economy is in dire straits. Economic growth has slowed, youth unemployment is at record highs, and the housing market is in decline. The persistent lockdowns have not only destroyed the economy, but also provoked growing social discontent.

Recently, several international organizations, such as the IMF and the World Bank, downgraded China's GDP growth forecasts for this year.