As the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 70th anniversary on Tuesday, the contrast between its past achievements and current challenges could hardly be more stark.
Its economy is slowing, increasingly due to deep-seated structural reasons. Its relations with the US, partly because of the trade war, are unambiguously adversarial. Hong Kong is engulfed by pro-democracy protests that challenge Beijing’s doctrine of authoritarian control and Taiwan appears likely to choose a pro-independence candidate at presidential elections next year.
No wonder then that Xi Jinping, the president, used the world “struggle” nearly 60 times in the published version of a speech he delivered this month. Nevertheless, Beijing does not profess to be daunted by the challenges it faces, but determined to defy them. “We must win the struggle,” Mr Xi said.