Is China Collapsing?

Notes on the News

As you’ve no doubt heard, there’s been a bizarre series of purges in Beijing. The foreign minister and the defense minister have disappeared. Senior PLA officers have been disciplined or arrested. The generals who controlled the Rocket Force—which includes both the conventional and nuclear missiles—were sacked. And Xi didn’t show up for the G20 or the ASEAN summit.

Jennifer Zeng says the purge extends to executives from defense industry companies. She speculates that it’s owed to the growing hold of ancient Chinese prophecies over Xi’s superstitious mind:

… In particular, my source tells me that Xi is taken with prophecies predicting palace coups and assassinations. Xi allegedly fears that such prophecies might come true, resulting in his death while in office. As a result, my source says, Xi has taken extensive precautions.