Impact on Beijing's Actions Abroad

Until recently, the widely accepted international narrative about China was that it was a country on a roll  – characterized by years of remarkable economic growth, increasing global clout, and a leadership with a deft touch in managing both a booming economy and the country’s international rise. Events of the past few weeks, however, have begun to call that narrative into question.

In rapid succession, the world has witnessed a dramatic drop in China’s stock market and contradictory and ineffective efforts by the government to prop it up, the confused handling of a revaluation of the renminbi, and mismanagement, lack of transparency, and suggestions of corruption surrounding a catastrophic chemical explosion in Tianjin. At the same time, there have been contradictory signals about the country’s political stability, with commentaries in the official press warning retired leaders not to meddle in state affairs and declaring that President Xi Jinping, who has accumulated more power than any Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, was facing “stubborn, fierce, and complex” resistance.