Commentary
Authorities in Beijing seem eager to signal a change in policy. They want, or so the signals imply, to take reform beyond the abandonment of zero-COVID, jumpstart China’s still-stalled economy, and also improve strained diplomatic relations with the West.
If the change involves a relaxation of the authoritarian, statist trend of recent years, people inside China and outside should welcome the policy shift—but that is far from apparent in what has been said.
Because a policy shift of any kind can imply a previous policy error, Beijing is proceeding carefully. Most of the available information has emerged in leaks rather than in official announcements, much less in explanations. Typical are the communications reviewed in a recent Financial Times. Much of the information Beijing provided there concerns itself less with the nature of new policies than with reports of demotions among officials linked to old policies….