Beijing’s model is hitting roadblocks. It needs to move toward more home-grown spending – even if one-party politics makes that hard

China faces what the economist Albert Hirschman noted decades ago: explosive growth is unbalanced, and success embeds that unevenness into political, business and cultural institutions, making change tough. China now stands at this crossroads .

The Asian giant’s economic growth, which previously relied on exports and a debt-driven construction boom, is facing headwinds : the disastrous crash from a real estate investment spree, big losses hitting the banks, and local governments facing a crippling debt crisis. With households highly indebted, China cannot just build more apartments to sell. Sustaining an export-led boom will become harder as anti-dumping measures and Donald Trump’s tariffs hit. All this when Chinese firms report plunging profits.