Opinion | Let's hope Xi Jinping does pursue bolder reforms
Party's leaders seem to be having difficulty finalising power transition, fuelling nervous debate on country's future prosperity
With just over three weeks to go before the 18th national congress opens to approve a once-a-decade leadership transition, the party appears to be in a long, difficult labour to deliver a complete line-up of new leaders.
The resulting uncertainty about the true colours of China's next leaders, coupled with a noticeable economic slowdown, have led to sharp debate over the future direction of the world's second-largest economy.
On this issue, there are two camps with sharply opposing views. The optimists believe China's economy will remain on a growth trajectory for the next 20 or 30 years, with gross domestic product growth to average 7 to 8 per cent. That's much slower than the double-digit growth rates achieved for most of the past 40 years, but still enough to enable China to overtake the US as the world's largest economy.
The optimists generally dismiss the current political uncertainty and economic slump as temporary, and expect the new leaders to continue the path of reform and opening up once the transition is settled.
After all, maintaining a strong economy is the most important source of the party's legitimacy, which enables it to cling to power.
