Under Xi, a Chinese renaissance is assured, contrary to what the West believes

Following the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, analysts are parsing through President Xi Jinping’s 30,000-plus-word report – delivered in a 3½-hour address without breaks – to decipher the direction of the most populous nation in the world.

It is a laborious effort, especially considering the report’s extensive official jargon and policy details.

But there is a much easier way. Read The Economist ’scoverage of the party congress, which is considerably shorter in length, and bet on the opposite being true. Let me explain.

In October 1992, during the 14th party congress, The Economist editorialised that the Communist Party had “stepped backwards” and called the socialist market economy (which the congress espoused) an “oxymoron”.

Five years later, in 1997, during the 15th party congress, it characterised the gathering as an event where “hollow promise[s]” were made and broken, from privatisation to unemployment goals. Dashing raised expectations was a “recipe for civil strife”, opined the magazine.

At the 16th congress, in November 2002, the magazine pronounced that the “familiar policy of trying to muddle through” was no longer an option for a party that faced looming troubles; words such as “crisis” and “unrest” were ominously used.