In China, Politics is Holding Back Economics

As the Bo Xilai and Chen Guangcheng episodes show, politics in China can be brutal. For the Chinese Communist Party, an enduring social compact with its people is still a long way off. When it comes to economic management, though, the assumption is that China’s authoritarian leaders are streets ahead, since they have to deliver prosperity to remain in power. So when industrial production falls, fixed-asset investment and retail spending slows, and home sales plummet, Beijing worries. Export sales growth in April was only half of what it was in March—results that surprised even Premier Wen Jiabao.