With China’s stock market in a downward spiral, a near cold war situation on the Korean peninsula triggered by Pyongyang’s test of what it claims was a hydrogen bomb, and a growing coalescence of nations concerned about China’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea amongst other things, 2016 is shaping up to be a challenging year for President Xi Jinping. Apart from the perennial challenges of ruling Tibet and other so called autonomous regions, some of the other problems that China is confronting are a dropping currency and economic growth rate, a Taiwan that is likely to vote in a DPP government that is less inclined to see an upside in a political union with the PRC, an ever growing wealth gap that can threaten stability, and finally a wide scale democracy movement in Hong Kong that appears determined to push back against China’s heavy handed political appointments.
Challenging Start To The New Year For China
Investors play cards in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, Sept. 9, 2015.