China's economy rotting from the head

A boy views a video depicting Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Military Museum in Beijing on Sept 2, 2022. Mr Xi has inserted himself into every corner of Chinese life, leaving no room for anointed successors. NYT

China highlights a long-debated question about economic development: Can a top-down autocracy outperform liberal market economies in terms of innovation and growth?

Between 1980 and 2019, China's average annual GDP growth ratewas over 8% -- faster than any Western economy-- and in the 2000s, its economic trajectory exceeded mere catch-up growth (using Western technologies). China started making its own technology investments, producing patents and academic publications, and spawning innovative companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and Huawei.