Xi's China: Excessive Control Creates Systemic Risk, Threatens Stability

• China's Communist Party (CCP) historically adapted through decentralised experimentation and internal debate, a capacity now under strain.
• Post-Mao era saw phases from consolidation to technocratic growth, culminating in Xi Jinping's extreme centralisation of power.
• Xi's rigid power structure is ill-suited for a complex, ageing, middle-income society, leading to governance paralysis and risk aversion among officials.
• Excessive centralisation causes contradictions, with filtered information flow upwards and policies failing due to lack of local initiative.
• China's demographic decline and economic stagnation are critical vulnerabilities that cannot be solved by central command, risking abrupt rupture.

Why It Matters: Xi Jinping's hyper-centralised governance model in China creates systemic risks, hindering adaptability and threatening long-term stability.