Every day, new rules and moves are bringing Xi Jinping one step closer to regaining complete control of China's economy and society. One aspect of Xi’s psychology, like Mao’s, is how he can turn on a dime, how little past commitments to partners are worth and how much he remains shaped by his initial years of struggle, something he seldom forgets to bring up. Still, we had all become complacent: we knew he wasn’t a fan of the large-scale market economy, but he seemed perfectly at ease with hybrid conglomerates and national champions that have consistently delivered China’s fast growth. We understood his anti-corruption campaigns as first and foremost a political tool against real or potential opponents. We also saw his initial proclamations of economic reform as largely stillborn. We saw China’s increasing global economic leverage as key to Xi’s ambition for his mandate. As regards domestic economic policies, they still followed the stop-and-go budget and credit cycle of previous reform decades. Where Xi differed was in the strength of his red and nationalistic political rhetoric, in the additional boost given to high tech developments also started by his predecessors, and by a "take no prisoner" attitude to any potential challenger, at home or abroad.
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