Sections
Magazine
Latest Issue

While lockdowns were arguably necessary, Adam Wagner warns that when governments give themselves drastic powers, they don’t always give them back. Stephen Buranyi uncovers how Big Pharma is using its vaccine success to double down on profit rather than protect us. Gabriel Scally and Sunetra Gupta debate whether it's worth trying to eliminate Covid altogether. Plus: an interview with Carlo Rovelli, master of the universe, while Julia Bell explains how her ex-student got radicalised online.

Read Now Or Checkout the archive
Previous
April 2021
March 2021
January/February 2021
December 2020
Events
Next Event

Watch: How do we stop a generation from sleepwalking into retirement?

Previous
Watch: Homes for all—what new social and affordable housing can do for Britain
Watch: The 2020 Think Tank Awards Ceremony
Watch: What next for pensions? Why the 2020s are the crunch decade
To the archive
Podcast
Latest Episode

The Prospect Interview #174: The literary afterlives of Philip Roth

Previous
The Prospect Interview #174: The real Stephen Hawking, with Philip Ball
The Prospect Interview #173: Is UK democracy under threat?
The Prospect Interview #172: England’s robot curriculum
To the archive
Economics & Finance World beijing China Xi Jinping

A sober message from China’s National People’s Congress

There is no denying it has been a difficult 12 months for Beijing

By George Magnus  
March 8, 2019

The Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Zhang Ling/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

It was Premier Li Keqiang’s big moment, especially given his rather diminished role in Xi Jinping’s China. The Work Report is the premier’s responsibility to deliver, and when he addressed roughly 3,000 delegates at the National People’s Congress (NPC) earlier this week, he warned them “we must be fully prepared for a tough struggle,” and “the difficulties we face must not be underestimated.” This was an unusually downbeat message to share with Party cadres. As we know,…

Register today to continue reading

You’ve hit your limit of three articles in the last 30 days. To get seven more, simply enter your email address below.

You’ll also receive our free e-book Prospect’s Top Thinkers 2020 and our newsletter with the best new writing on politics, economics, literature and the arts.

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with newsletters, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click here to learn more about these purposes and how we use your data. You will be able to opt-out of further contact on the next page and in all our communications.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to letters@prospect-magazine.co.uk

George Magnus

George Magnus is a well known economist and former Chief Economist at UBS. His forthcoming book is "Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is in Jeopardy" (Yale University Press)

More stories by George Magnus

More From Prospect