China: A Welcome Toughness, But Alarming Clumsiness

SINCE assuming power in March, Chinaâ??s new rulers have prided themselves on their no-frills approach. Xi Jinping, Chinaâ??s president, inveighs against pomp and protocol. His prime minister, Li Keqiang, who oversees the economy, favours masochistic metaphors. In March he said that the state should remove its hand from many parts of the economy, even if doing so felt like cutting its own wrists.