China's growth challenges go beyond Covid

China’s Communist Party Congress – which kicked off yesterday and will determine a range of key positions in the government and beyond – is unlikely to fundamentally change the political landscape. President Xi Jinping’s opening speech reinforces that view. Our focus is on the economic landscape that will shape the outlook well beyond the conclusion of the congress at the end of the week. The Chinese economy grew apace in the ten years prior to the pandemic, by 7.7% on average each year. But it now faces a set of acute challenges that, in our view, mean it’s entering a stage of significantly slower...